Espora-class corvette

ARA Espora
Class overview
BuildersAFNE "Río Santiago"
Operators Argentine Navy
SubclassesEspora
In commission1985–present
Completed6
General characteristics
TypeCorvette
Displacement1,560 tons (1,790 tons full load)[1]
Length91.2 m (299 ft 3 in)[1]
Beam11.0 m (36 ft 1 in)[1]
Draught3.33 m (10 ft 11 in)[1] (hull)
Installed power22,600 bhp (16.9 MW)[1]
Propulsion2 × SEMT Pielstick 16 PC 2–5 V400 diesels, 2 × 5-blade props[1]
Speed27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph)[1]
Range4,000 nmi (7,400 km; 4,600 mi) at 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph)[1]
Complement11 officers, 46 petty officers, 36 enlisted[1]
Sensors and
processing systems
  • Thales DA-05/2 air/surface search
  • Thales WM-28, LIROD fire control
  • Decca TM 1226 navigation
  • (Consilium Selesmar NavBat on P45/6
  • Atlas AQS-1 hull MF sonar[1]
Electronic warfare
& decoys
  • Decca RDC-2ABC
  • Decca RCM-2 jammer
  • 2 × Matra Dagaie decoys[1]
Armament
Aircraft carried1 × Eurocopter Fennec (P44-P46)
Aviation facilitiesHelideck (all), telescoping hangar (P44-P46)

The Espora-class corvettes are six warships of the Argentine Navy built in Argentina to the German MEKO 140A16 design, this in turn being based on the Portuguese João Coutinho-class project. The first entered service in 1985 but accidents and lack of funds meant the last was not completed until 2004. The ships currently form the 2nd Corvette Division of the Argentine Navy and their home port is the Puerto Belgrano Naval Base. Although considered by its designers to be frigates, the Espora-class vessels have been classed in Argentina as corvettes.

The Argentine Navy struggles to meet maintenance and training requirements because of financial problems and import restrictions.[4] The Espora class has not been immune – Espora herself spent 73 days in South Africa in late 2012 in a dispute about payment for repairs to its generators. The operational status of Rosales is not clear, as of November 2012 she was waiting for spares,[4] whilst Spiro lost her sonar in a grounding accident in August 2012. In 2019, Rosales was reported as scheduled to be scrapped.[5] However, one year later training activities were still being conducted on her and in 2021 she was undergoing repair work for an envisaged return to service in 2022.[6][7][8] She returned to service in September 2022.[9]

Parker was subsequently selected for conversion to the offshore patrol role and entered refit for that purpose in late 2021.[10] Whilst initially planned to return to operational service in 2023, it has since been announced that Parker will be relaunched before the end of 2024.[11]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Wertheim, Eric (2007). The Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World: Their Ships, Aircraft, and Systems (15 ed.). Naval Institute Press. p. 9. ISBN 9781591149552.
  2. ^ Solá, Mariano Germán Videla (6 October 2022). "De corbetas a patrulleros: un recurso que sigue vigente" [From corvettes to patrol boats: a resource that is still valid]. Zona Militar (in Spanish). Retrieved 31 December 2022 – via Google Translate.
  3. ^ "El astillero Tandanor reequipará la corbeta ARA Parker para especializarla en patrullaje «anti-pesca» ilegal" [The Tandanor shipyard will re-equip the corvette ARA Parker to specialize it in illegal "anti-fishing" patrol]. Agendar (in Spanish). 3 January 2022. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
  4. ^ a b "Argentine navy short on spares and resources for training and maintenance". MercoPress. 22 November 2012. Archived from the original on 2012-12-28.
  5. ^ Axe, David (31 December 2019). "Time Is Running Out To Save Argentina's Navy And Air Force From Obsolesence [sic]". The National Interest. Retrieved 11 August 2020 – via Yahoo! News.
  6. ^ "La corbeta ARA "Rosales" cumplió con diversos adiestramientos". gacetamarinera.com.ar (in Spanish). 27 August 2020. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  7. ^ "La Armada Argentina y Tandanor ultiman el carenado de la corbeta ARA Rosales". infodefensa.com (in Spanish). 12 October 2021. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  8. ^ "ARA Rosales Conducts Trials After Refit at Tandanor Shipyard". Seawaves Magazine. 12 October 2021. Archived from the original on 16 February 2022. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
  9. ^ "Taiana supervisó un ejercicio de la flota de mar frente a la costa" [Taiana oversaw a sea fleet exercise off the coast]. Télam (in Spanish). 15 September 2022. Retrieved 16 September 2022.
  10. ^ Solá, Mariano Germán Videla (22 September 2022). "NVAP y CITEDEF junto a la Armada Argentina participarán del proyecto de modernización de la corbeta ARA Parker" [INVAP and CITEDEF together with the Argentine Navy will participate in the modernization project of the corvette ARA Parker]. Zona Militar (in Spanish). Retrieved 31 December 2022.
  11. ^ Mainardi, Por Patricia Fernández (2021-08-07). "Astillero Tandanor: cómo funciona uno de los motores de la industria naval argentina". infobae (in European Spanish). Retrieved 2024-09-05.