According to a tweet published by Mahmoud Gamal on November 10, 2022, the second MEKO A-200 class frigate ENS Al-Qahhar has started its sea trials.
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MEKO A-200EN frigate El Aziz. (Picture source: Egypt MoD)
Workhorses of the sea, the MEKO® A-200 Frigate, follows the famous MEKO® 200 series general purpose frigates from the thyssenkrupp stable. A fighting ship capable of full 4-dimensional warfare (AAW, ASW and ASuW, BCW), the MEKO® A-200 Frigate is also designed for sustained operations across the full spectrum of general missions and tasks: patrol and interdiction, support of special force operations, SAR and humanitarian operations.
She is a perfect example of the innovative propulsion, stealth and survivability design, robust sea-keeping, and all-weather boat and helicopter operability that characterizes frigates from Marine Systems.
The ship has a length of 118 m (387 ft), a beam of 14.8 m (49 ft), and a draught of 4.3 m (14 ft). She has a range of 6,000 nautical miles at 18 knots and a displacement of 3,4000 tons.
The frigate features the revolutionary CODAG-WARP (Water jet and Refined Propellers) propulsion system: two CPP propeller shafts driven by cross-connectable diesel engines plus a center-line gas turbine-driven water jet, combining the power of each drive in the water without the need of a combining gearbox. This arrangement allows for extremely quiet acoustic signatures, a high degree of propulsion redundancy and damage survivability.
The propulsion arrangement also provides, in the diesel-only mode, an extremely economic solution, whereby one engine can drive both shafts for a ship’s speed of 18 knots. This means that the ship will spend most of its life on a single diesel engine, bringing a significant reduction in through-life propulsion costs.
The >16 m beam and active fin stabilizers provide platform stability such that safe helicopter and boat operations can be conducted in sea state 6. A covered fo’c’sle and high freeboard provide for additional buoyancy and reduced deck wettnesses and slamming, allowing high-speed transit in heavy seas.
With a tactical diameter of less than four ship lengths and a stopping distance from full speed using the reversing water jet (crash-stop manoeuvre) of less that two ship lengths, the MEKO® A-200 Frigate outperforms all frigates in the same tonnage class.
The MEKO® A-200 Frigate has greatly reduced radar, IR, acoustic and magnetic signatures to hide and stay hidden: The X-Form® shell design; extensive bulwark screening of exposed equipment; flush-closing shell doors, and RCSnet screening of all shell openings, give the vessel very low radar cross section.
