Baleares during the military exercise Ocean Venture 1981
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Class overview | |
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Name | Baleares class |
Builders | Navantia, Ferrol, Spain |
Operators | Spanish Navy |
Succeeded by | Santa María class |
Built | 1968–1976 |
In commission | 1973–2009 |
Planned | 5 |
Completed | 5 |
Retired | 5 |
General characteristics final version | |
Type | Frigate |
Displacement | |
Length | 133.6 m (438 ft 4 in) |
Beam | 14.3 m (46 ft 11 in) |
Draught | 7.8 m (25 ft 7 in) max |
Installed power | 2 V2M boilers, total 26,000 kW (35,000 shp) |
Propulsion | 1 shaft, one Westinghouse steam turbine |
Speed | 28 knots (52 km/h; 32 mph) |
Range | 4,500 nmi (8,300 km; 5,200 mi) at 20 kn (37 km/h; 23 mph) |
Complement | 256 |
Sensors and processing systems |
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Electronic warfare & decoys | Ceselsa Deneb/Canopus, Mk36 SBROC decoy launchers |
Armament |
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The Baleares class were a group of five frigates built for the Spanish Navy in the late 1960s and 1970s. The ships were a modified version of the American Knox-class frigates. The key differences are the replacement of helicopter facilities by a medium-range surface-to-air missile system and associated radars. Constructed between 1968 and 1976, the Baleares class began entering service in 1973 and formed the 31 Escort Squadron, based at Ferrol. The five ships were upgraded several times during their service lives. The ships were retired beginning in the mid-2000s and replaced by the Álvaro de Bazán-class frigates on a one-to-one basis.