According to information published by the New Zealander MoD on July 14, 2022, under grey skies, the Royal New Zealand Navy frigate HMNZS Te Mana triumphantly sailed into Waitematā Harbour and received a well-deserved Ceremonial Homecoming following the completion of a three-year frigate systems upgrade in Canada.
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New Zealander Anzac class frigate Te Maha, Waitemata Harbour, Auckland. (Picture source: New Zealander MoD)
The upgrade programme was managed by the Ministry of Defence and carried out by Lockheed Martin Canada, which delivered new radars, electronic detection and other above-water systems, the self-defence missile system, decoys against missiles and torpedoes, and an upgrade to the hull-mounted sonar, along with the combat management system that integrates these.
About the Anzac class frigate HMNZS Te Mana
HMNZS Te Mana (F111) is one of ten Anzac-class frigates and one of two serving in the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN). The ship was laid down under the joint Anzac project by Tenix Defence at Williamstown, Victoria in 1996, launched in 1997, and commissioned into the RNZN in 1999.
The Anzacs are based on Blohm + Voss' MEKO 200 PN (or Vasco da Gama-class) frigates, modified to meet Australian and New Zealand specifications and maximise the use of locally built equipment.
Each frigate has a 3,600-tonne (3,500-long-ton) full load displacement. The ships are 109 metres (357 ft 7 in) long at the waterline, and 118 metres (387 ft 2 in) long overall, with a beam of 14.8 metres (48 ft 7 in), and a full load draught of 4.35 metres (14 ft 3 in).
The ships are fitted with a Combined Diesel or Gas (CODOG) propulsion machinery layout, consisting of two controllable-pitch propellers driven by a single General Electric LM2500-30 gas turbine and two MTU diesel engines: initially the TB83 model, but these were replaced in 2010 with more powerful TB93s.
Maximum speed is 27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph), and maximum range is over 6,000 nautical miles (11,000 km; 6,900 mi) at 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph). The standard ship's company of an Anzac consists of 22 officers and 141 sailors.
The main armament for the frigate is a 5-inch 54 calibre Mark 45 gun, supplemented by an eight-cell Mark 41 vertical launch system for RIM-7 Sea Sparrow, two 12.7-millimetre (0.50 in) machine guns, and two Mark 32 triple torpedo tube sets firing Mark 46 torpedoes.
