Frigates: Adelaide Class
Posted: Mon Sep 16, 2019 7:54 am
Possibly unnoticed has gone to history the pretty bright idea of purchasing two Adelaide class frigattes (mod OHP) for the Polish NAVY (PN).
The RAN put them on the sell desk - not for all because of modern weapons (AA in particular) and elctronics recently fitted on the ships.
Poland as the NATO member has been a proper buyer so for some two years from 2016 talks were carried out with both sides keen on making a deal.
Visit of the Polish President in 2018 to Australia was to be good occasion to officially sign the contract.
Unfortunately for the Australians (who would recover some money) and for very urgent needs of the PN the plans collapsed.
Purchasing the frigattes was entangled in Polish political swirl in which actually urgent defence needs (PN is very bad state with just two ex USS OHPs and couple of 35 yo Norwegian subs now not fully operational, plus couple of small corvette size warships, amphibious and mine warfare vessels).
While MOD opted for the RAS ships the Ministry of Maritime opposed strongly claiming the ships for the PN should - and would be built in the Polish navy yards run by the Gvt .
Sounds good but what it means?
It means no new ships for the PN in coming 10 plus years for the Gvt run yards have already showed they are not able to successfully design and construct even a medium size corvette type ships as was proved by the case of ORP Gawron multipurpose corvette armed with missiles which today name is ORP Slazak. It has been built for 17 years. A sad record.
In June 2019 the poor craft was still on trials and far from being operational.The ship has been using nickname ORP "Never", and is now classified as "the patrol ship" - pretty big of 1800/2100 tons, 30kts, armed with OTO 3in, 2x30mm canons and short range AA missile; the later rather "ravenge weapon" for outgoing attack a/c because of its born in infra-red specific of use.
Today the PN state is by many called critical - and a reaction of the MOD of a small remark by the (now former) PM Commander in his address that "Polish Navy waits for new ships" caused his dismissal in matter of couple of days .
Future purchase will be aimed at the subs but recently the military spendings have been put into the Land Forces (Patriot missiles, artillery, CC systems etc, etc) and in the latest intent of buying 32 ea of F35.
This change of priority or focusing spendings on land rather than sea means that buying cheap the Adelaides which would be operational with the PN in 2 max 3 years also have had a lot of sense and would provide so much needed improvement in the overall the PL Armed Forces capability.
Regards,
GD
The RAN put them on the sell desk - not for all because of modern weapons (AA in particular) and elctronics recently fitted on the ships.
Poland as the NATO member has been a proper buyer so for some two years from 2016 talks were carried out with both sides keen on making a deal.
Visit of the Polish President in 2018 to Australia was to be good occasion to officially sign the contract.
Unfortunately for the Australians (who would recover some money) and for very urgent needs of the PN the plans collapsed.
Purchasing the frigattes was entangled in Polish political swirl in which actually urgent defence needs (PN is very bad state with just two ex USS OHPs and couple of 35 yo Norwegian subs now not fully operational, plus couple of small corvette size warships, amphibious and mine warfare vessels).
While MOD opted for the RAS ships the Ministry of Maritime opposed strongly claiming the ships for the PN should - and would be built in the Polish navy yards run by the Gvt .
Sounds good but what it means?
It means no new ships for the PN in coming 10 plus years for the Gvt run yards have already showed they are not able to successfully design and construct even a medium size corvette type ships as was proved by the case of ORP Gawron multipurpose corvette armed with missiles which today name is ORP Slazak. It has been built for 17 years. A sad record.
In June 2019 the poor craft was still on trials and far from being operational.The ship has been using nickname ORP "Never", and is now classified as "the patrol ship" - pretty big of 1800/2100 tons, 30kts, armed with OTO 3in, 2x30mm canons and short range AA missile; the later rather "ravenge weapon" for outgoing attack a/c because of its born in infra-red specific of use.
Today the PN state is by many called critical - and a reaction of the MOD of a small remark by the (now former) PM Commander in his address that "Polish Navy waits for new ships" caused his dismissal in matter of couple of days .
Future purchase will be aimed at the subs but recently the military spendings have been put into the Land Forces (Patriot missiles, artillery, CC systems etc, etc) and in the latest intent of buying 32 ea of F35.
This change of priority or focusing spendings on land rather than sea means that buying cheap the Adelaides which would be operational with the PN in 2 max 3 years also have had a lot of sense and would provide so much needed improvement in the overall the PL Armed Forces capability.
Regards,
GD