South African Valour class frigates

The South African Valour class frigates will be (as of early 2004) the major surface units of the South African Navy. The German manufacturer designnates them the MEKO A-200 class, succesors to the MEKO class.

Ships of the class

{| border=1 cellpadding=5 cellspacing=0 ! ship name !! Builder !! laid down !! launched !! delivered !! in service |- || SAS Amatola F145 || Blohm+Voss Hamburg || 2 Aug 2001 || 6 Jun 2002 || 2003 || 2005 |- || SAS Isandlwana F146 || Howaldtswerke Kiel || 26 Oct 2001 || 5 Dec 2002 || 2004 || 2005 |- || SAS Spioenkop F147 || Blohm+Voss Hamburg || 28 Feb 2002 || 2 Aug 2003 || || 2005 |- || SAS Mendi F148 || Howaldtswerke Kiel || 28 Jun 2002 || Oct 2003 || || |}

History

The four class frigates are a German design by the firm Blohm and Voss, designated MEKO A-200 by the shipbuilders, and are a successor to Blohm and Voss's earleir MEKO frigates. Similar ships are being built in Poland for the Polish navy.

They are/were built by Blohm and Voss shipyards in Germany, two in Hamburg and the other two in Kiel.

Armament

External links

• Naval Technology page on MEKO A