Credible capability: Spain’s future frigate delivers multi-domain, multi-mission deterrence and defence

In December 2024, a first live tracking of an airborne object was achieved for Lockheed Martin’s AN/SPY-7(V)2 solid-state, fixed-face, S-band (NATO E/F-band) radar, being developed as part of the Spanish Navy’s F-110 frigate programme.

The testing – conducted at the US company’s Moorestown, New Jersey facility – used a single-face variant, instantiated in an engineering development model (EDM) of the system. SPY-7 is a core capability for the navy’s future frigate, which is in turn central to Spain’s future naval force structure. The F-110 will bring multi-role capabilities to bolster deterrence and defence against the multitude of threats NATO navies face today, with Russian activity across the Euro-Atlantic theatre demonstrating the requirement in response for significant multi-domain anti-air (AAW), anti-submarine (ASW), and anti-surface warfare (ASuW) capabilities.

In a January 2025 statement, Lockheed Martin and Spanish national shipbuilder Navantia said the successful December test marked a milestone in the radar’s software and hardware development and in the ship’s capability progression. The statement added that Lockheed Martin’s formal delivery of the radar to Navantia and to the first ship is scheduled for 2026, as a key step in the frigate programme’s combat system ‘light off’.

In April 2019, Spain’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) awarded Navantia a EUR 4.32 billion (USD 4.69 billion) contract to build five Bonifaz class F-110 frigates, under the PROTEC 110 (Programas Tecnologicos F-110) programme. Replacing the in-service F-80 Santa María class frigates, operating alongside the F-100 Álvaro de Bazán class frigates, and providing integrated support for the navy’s wider surface fleet, the F-110s will provide multi-mission capability supporting multi-domain operations.

The Aegis-integrated radar will provide state-of-the-art AAW capability, a requirement underscored by the impact of ‘precise mass’ in conventional strike operations conducted in the Russo-Ukraine war. Increasing Russian underwater activity across the maritime domain and across the spectrum of operations (from nuclear-powered submarine deployments to possible campaigns against seabed critical underwater infrastructure [CUI]) underscores the requirement for high-end ASW capability. Fitting the frigates with the anti-ship/land-attack capable Kongsberg Naval Strike Missile (NSM) meets the contemporary naval operational requirement for projecting power at and from the sea.

If push comes to shove

In the context of Russia’s strategic push into Ukraine, in the maritime domain NATO’s destroyer and frigate force has been required to provide visible, credible presence and defence capability theatre-wide, to deter any risk of strategic push coming to operational shove up against NATO countries and forces in conflict spillover into other regions.

A high-end, multi-purpose, multi-domain frigate like the F-110 is the perfect fit for providing such deterrence and defence output.

Even before the Russo-Ukraine war, Spain’s national security thinking had been underlining core security requirements relevant to the navy’s escort ships. The 2021 National Security Strategy stressed that protecting the high seas and maritime routes was integral to European security; that melting Arctic ice would open new, strategically important trans-Polar maritime routes that would need to be secured; that maritime disputes in various places around the world would threaten regional security; and that maintaining maritime security was essential to Spain as a maritime country.

These challenges have been underscored since the war broke out. For example, as shown by the threat to commercial and naval shipping from drifting mines or maritime uncrewed systems in the Black Sea, and by CUI attacks in the Baltic, sea lines of communication (SLOCs) are now contested. The Northern Sea Route connecting East and West across the Arctic could be a new ‘strategic’ SLOC; used mostly by Russia and China, its emergence still mandates increased NATO naval presence in High North waters. SLOCs are also impacted in places like the Eastern Mediterranean, where NATO and Russian ships and submarines now gather in numbers to maintain presence and influence in the wider region following Türkiye’s closing of the Bosporus/Dardanelles straits to non-Black Sea resident naval ships.

Other impacts from the war illustrate the importance of the F-110’s capabilities. For example, the ‘precise mass’ employed offensively by both protagonists – with traditional conventional combat focus on using weapons in large numbers now enhanced with high-end precision strike technology – demonstrates that, in areas like AAW or ASuW, defensive mass in platforms and missiles is required. This may explain why Spain is considering adding two more ships – both set to be specialist AAW platforms – to its F-110 inventory.

Indeed, perhaps given the ‘precise mass’ of conventional weaponry being used in the war (including ballistic and cruise missiles, hypersonic weapons, and air-based uncrewed systems), NATO has called for member states to generate increased AAW quantity and quality.

Despite the F-110’s original conception primarily as an ASW platform, the AAW capability onboard, the prospective addition of further AAW-focused hulls, and the ASuW presence delivered by NSM indicate that – perhaps reflecting the broadening nature of the Russian threat since 2022 – the ships will bring a balanced, multi-mission, full-spectrum, and multi-domain operational approach to countering the challenges in the evolving naval warfare environment.

The Spanish Navy’s current contribution to NATO operations underlines the full-spectrum and multi-domain role of its surface fleet, to be continued with the F-110. For example, between January and July 2024, the navy commanded Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 (SNMG1) – NATO Allied Maritime Command’s North Atlantic-focused, destroyer/frigate-based, standing naval force – with the F-100 frigate ESPS Almirante Juan De Borbon as flagship. SNMG1 roamed widely from the Eastern Atlantic to the Arctic, and into the North and Baltic seas, with tasking including AAW and ASW. During that same period, the navy sent its own flagship, the amphibious assault ship ESPS Juan Carlos I, to the Striking and Support Forces NATO (SFN) integrated multi-carrier operational activity ‘Neptune Strike’. Deploying a large ‘flat top’ on operations in regions like the Eastern Mediterranean – where ‘Neptune Strike’ activities often occur – mandates high-end AAW, ASW, and ASuW task group support to counter the Russian presence.

Building capability

“The F-110 frigate is designed to operate in high-, medium-, and low-intensity scenarios, with significant combat capability in all major warfare areas. The required capabilities include addressing an increasingly complex conventional and asymmetric threat,” Rafael Seijo, Navantia’s F-110 programme manager, told MDM in a late March written interview.

According to Navantia, “The F-110 frigates … are multi-purpose escort ships, with anti-aircraft, anti-surface, and anti-submarine capabilities to perform force protection and naval power projection duties. They will operate in combination with other units …. They are versatile platforms that can also perform functions related to maritime security and support to civilian authorities.”

Moreover, the programme is adding capability for Spain in industry, technology, sovereignty, and economy terms. “The F-110 will represent a qualitative leap from the point of view of the navy’s capabilities and the industrial and technological potential of Navantia and its collaborating industry,” the company said. “It thus contributes to Spain’s strategic autonomy and cutting-edge industrial and technological base, while at the same time opening new export opportunities.”

The process of delivering Spain’s new frigate is well underway, with two F-110s in build, work on the third set to start in 2025, and the procurement and build programme being on schedule.

“The F-110 programme is progressing without any slips in the scheduled dates,” said Seijo. “The programme has successfully achieved all key engineering milestones.”

The schedule is one ship a year launched, and one ship a year commissioned. Construction of first-in-class ship Bonifaz has been underway at Navantia’s Ferrol shipyard, northern Spain since April 2022, with keel laying occurring in August 2023. Seijo confirmed the ship is set to be launched in 2025 and delivered in 2028; in between, platform trials are set for 2026, and sea trials and combat system ‘light off’ for 2027.

“The corresponding milestones of each of the remaining vessels … is approximately one year later than those of each previous unit,” said Siejo.

To help accelerate the programme, Navantia has opened a second slipway at Ferrol to enable simultaneous build of two ships.

Alongside construction, system integration testing has been accelerating. Several developments are worth highlighting.

First, in January 2023, combat management system (CMS) integration began with the first test of Navantia’s SCOMBA (Sistema de Combate de los Buques de la Armada) CMS system with Lockheed Martin’s International Aegis Fire Control Loop (IAFCL) construct. This testing set-up was established at Lockheed Martin’s Aegis/SCOMBA Integration Center (ASIC) facility at Moorestown. By June 2023, a common operating picture was being shared between the two systems. While the Spanish Navy is a long-established Aegis operator, the F-110 programme represents the first time the navy has integrated Aegis with its indigenous SCOMBA CMS.

Second, several steps have been taken in developing the SPY-7(V)2 radar as the ship’s primary AAW sensor. In May 2024, the critical design review (CDR) was completed. CDR work included full assessment of the design, integration and testing processes, and system readiness for production. CDR completion enabled the system to move into full-rate production, along with development of the land-based SPY-7 radar test site (again, using a single-face version) at the navy’s Centro de Integracion de Sistemas en Tierra (CIST) facility, Rota Naval Base, Cadiz, southern Spain. Next came the successful December tracking test. This testing was enabled by installing the SPY-7 EDM version at the Moorestown ASIC facility; this facility supports land-based testing of the CMS and wider combat system end-to-end capability, including demonstrating missile track engagement and exchange.

In a combined Lockheed Martin/Navantia media briefing in January, held following the SPY-7 test, Mike Koch – Lockheed Martin’s European mission systems programme manager – said that alongside the EDM integration work to achieve the first track, Navantia Sistemas and Lockheed Martin engineers were working on SCOMBA integration into the IAFCL testing structure at Moorestown as the first steps in preparing to demonstrate full, end-to-end combat system and radar integration that will see live SPY-7 tracks displayed on SCOMBA screens. The aim is to complete this integration in mid-2025; Koch told MDM that “significant progress” is being made and that “We remain on schedule to complete the integration over the coming months.”

Cristina Abad – Director of Navantia Sistemas – told the briefing: “Later in 2026, once a single face of the SPY-7 radar has been completely installed at CIST, both teams will have the opportunity to perform integration and testing for the radar in a coastal maritime environment, which will allow for a solid and consistent integration of the Aegis and SCOMBA systems before moving on to the ship.”

Integration of a full, four-face SPY-7(V)2 radar into Bonifaz is scheduled for 2027.

The SPY-7 capability is crucial for both air and missile defence, said Seijo. Integrated air and missile defence (IAMD) capability, like that provided by the radar, an integrated mast, and the combined Aegis/SCOMBA CMS, will be crucial in the ship’s capability for dealing with ballistic and cruise missile and uncrewed air system threats. These threats are proving to be a dominant factor in the Russo-Ukraine war.

In the F-110 programme’s next phase, with ships heading to sea for testing and with others in build in parallel, Seijo said that one of the challenges the programme is tackling is recruiting and maintaining suitably qualified and experienced shipbuilding personnel.

Kit and capability

Seijo described the F-110 programme as an opportunity to introduce new technologies as a driver of transformation and technological innovation within Spanish defence industry. Here, he highlighted several significant technological advances in the frigate’s design, like the integrated mast, a multi-mission bay, and the more efficient and quieter hybrid propulsion system.

The F-110’s multi-role, multi-domain concept is illustrated across the ships’ capability fit.

The multi-role output is enabled by the space and weight provision in the 6,300-tonne, 145 m design. Such dimensions offer flexibility for the current planned capability, plus future capability growth margin.

In general maritime operational terms, F-110 range is 4,100 n miles at 15 kt; top speed is 26 kt. Propulsion is generated by a combined diesel-electric/gas (CODLAG) power infrastructure, built around four Navantia/MTU 20V 4000 M35B diesel engines and one GE LM2500 gas turbine. According to Navantia, the CODLAG arrangement – when operated in electric mode – reduces the ship’s radiated noise profile, enhancing ASW capability.

In one of the latest testing and integration developments, in February 2025 Navantia announced completion (in November 2024) of barge shock qualification for the frigate’s electrical and propulsion equipment. This process encompassed various onboard equipment including the diesel generator, electric propulsion motor, and main switchboard.

In specific naval operational terms, the frigate’s sensor and weapons fit-outs are extensive.

Central to the sensing capability is, of course, SPY-7. The F-110s will be the first ships, globally, to carry the SPY-7(V)2 radar. As a multi-function radar, SPY-7 mirrors the ship’s multi-function operational concept. According to Lockheed Martin, SPY-7 is the maritime version of the long-range discrimination radar (LRDR) technology underpinning the company’s radar concepts.

Seijo said the Aegis/SPY-7 integration had been the major technical challenge in the programme to date, alongside the extensive shock qualification plan.

Surface search radar capability is provided by the Indra Prisma 25X fixed-face I/J-band radar.

ASW sensing is based around two sonars. Mounted under the bow is a Thales BlueMaster/UMS 4110 low-frequency active/passive system. A Thales CAPTAS 4 Compact low-frequency active/passive variable-depth sonar (VDS) system provides the ships’ ‘tail’. Acoustic processing is conducted by the Thales BlueScan system.

The ship’s radar and electronic warfare capabilities are fitted within the integrated sensor mast (Mastil Integrado). F-110 will be the first Spanish Navy ship type carrying an integrated mast. A full-scale mast prototype has been set up at CIST.

Along with the radar, also incorporated into the mast are various other sensors, using flat-array technology and high digitisation to meet the demands of a technologically advanced vessel and to reduce the mast’s radar cross-section, Seijo explained. These sensors include the electronic warfare suite, an Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) system, and the Indra/Tecnobit IRST i110 electro-optical/infra-red (EO/IR) detection and tracking system.

Other IR capabilities include the Navantia DORNA RE-O radar/TV/IR tracking system.

The F-110’s enhanced sensor suite contributes significantly to different warfare areas by improving situational awareness, said Seijo.

Sensing capability is integrated into both the Aegis (Baseline 9C.2) and SCOMBA CMS systems. Navantia Sistemas is the CMS design agent.

Fire control capability is provided by a Navantia DORNA RE-O K-band system for the main gun, and a pair of Raytheon SPG-62 Mk 99 I/J-band illuminators for the other armaments.

The impact of these integrated capabilities is collective. “The combat system is highly capable of operating under saturation conditions in AAW, with multiple attacks and reduced reaction times,” said Seijo.

With most combat system components defined and procured, only minor communications system elements remain. Seijo said there is provision for these in the ship’s hardware and software design, but selection has been deferred to a later stage to minimise obsolescence.

Amongst ship effectors, perhaps most striking are eight, quad-packed NSM Block 1A missiles. NSM brings anti-ship and land-attack capability, with the 1A variant understood to add range.

Naval fires are also provided by a Leonardo 127 mm/LW64 Vulcano medium-calibre main gun. Additional surface fires are provided by two Escribano Sentinel 30 30 mm guns and four Escribano Sentinel 2.0 remote weapons stations (RWSs) carrying 12.7 mm machine guns. Seijo said the RWS set-up is designed to tackle asymmetric threats, including through incorporating significant tracking and precision improvements and harnessing the ship’s EO search capability.

Air-defence effectors come in two different capabilities for two different contexts. Area including task group air defence is provided by the Raytheon Standard Missile-2 (SM-2) Block IIIA/B. Ship and local self-defence is provided by quad-packed Raytheon RIM-162 Evolved SeaSparrow Missiles (ESSMs). These surface-to-air missile (SAM) capabilities will be fitted in the ships’ 16-cell (2 x 8) Lockheed Martin Mk41 vertical launching system (VLS).

Sub-surface defence, against both surface and underwater platforms, is provided by the Raytheon Mk54 torpedo, fired out of four (two pairs) of 324 mm launchers.

Anti-submarine sensing and prosecuting capability is provided by a medium helicopter, like the MH-60R Seahawk.

The ship’s flexible spaces include a flight deck, hangar, and multi-mission bay. The 170 m² mission bay can accommodate air, surface, and sub-surface uncrewed assets, up to four 20 ft ISO containers, rigid-hull inflatable boats, and task-specific mission modules. It can also act as a second hangar space.

“The multi-mission bay allows the ships to adopt a series of different profiles depending on the assigned mission,” Seijo explained. “This space is where remotely piloted systems – whether aerial, surface, or underwater – can be embarked, providing the ship with significant improvement in ability to perform its assigned missions.” It is a space, he continued, which “expands the ship’s capabilities in all warfare segments”.

Digitisation transformation

Central to the effective delivery of credible capability with F-110 is the integration of a digital approach to ship design and operation, within a wider transformation of Navantia’s and the navy’s overall digital approach to shipbuilding.

“The integration of digital technology in F-110 represents a substantial advancement in the navy’s capabilities, and showcases the industrial and technological potential of Navantia and its collaborating industry,” said Seijo.

Navantia has attributed the build work being ahead of schedule largely to design and engineering work maturity, the integrated relationship between industry and the navy, and using a 3-D digital model including of the final design for each of the 33 blocks used per ship.

The importance of digital modelling in the programme is also reflected in support for the ships’ operational use and upkeep. A ‘digital twin’ – developed by Navantia Sistemas, in collaboration with the navy and the Spanish MoD’s Directorate General of Armament and Material – will provide a shore-based “virtual replica of the ship that continuously receives data from a network of sensors distributed throughout the vessel,” said Seijo. Drawing out and integrating such data will inform and prepare ship maintenance and spares plans. “This technology significantly enhances maintenance and operational efficiency,” Seijo added, noting that the ’digital twin’ is one of the innovative elements of the ship’s concept. The navy’s use of a ‘digital twin’ is another example of F-110 ‘firsts’. According to Navantia, the ‘digital twin’ approach presents a ‘cyber-physical system’ that, through integrating behavioural models and technologies including cloud computing, machine learning, and the ‘Internet of Things’, enables delivery of maintenance and operational support even when the ships are at sea.

Another ‘at sea’ example of the navy’s digital transformation will be the fitting onboard of 3-D printers, allowing manufacture of spare parts during deployments.

Ashore, Navantia’s wider digital transformation includes establishing a ‘digital twin’ ‘centre of excellence’ at Ferrol. Also at Ferrol is a ‘digital block factory’ – a fully digitised, automated, and robotised facility focused on using advanced technology machinery to improve block build processes to enhance product quality and shorten delivery times. For example, Navantia said, it is looking at technologies like hybrid lasers to improve welding performance including minimising distortions. The company aims to start using the factory for ship three’s blocks.

Beyond these facilities, Navantia’s digitisation transformation includes focus on incorporating technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), ‘Big Data’, cyber security (reflecting the navy’s desire to develop fleet capacity for integrated cyber security), and augmented and virtual reality.

Elements like using AI, ‘Big Data’, ‘digital twins’, and the ‘Internet of Things’ all highlight the F-110 programme’s role for the navy as a transformation driver towards a logistics support model that allows for increased efficiency in resource management, said Seijo.

Dr Lee Willett

Dr Lee Willett is an independent writer and analyst on naval, maritime, and wider defence and security matters. Previously, he was editor of Janes Navy International, maritime studies senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, London, and Leverhulme research fellow at the University of Hull’s Centre for Security Studies.