Horizon-class Destroyer

The French Navy destroyer Forbin (D620) operates alongside aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) on May 31^st, 2009.

The Horizon/Orizzonte-class is a class of air-defence destroyers in service with the French and Italian navies.

The program started out as the Common New Generation Frigate (CNGF), a multi-national collaboration to produce a new generation of air-defence destroyers. In Italy the class is known as the Orizzonte class, which translates to "horizon" in French and English. In 1995, the UK joined France and Italy in the Horizon-class frigate program. However, differing requirements, workshare arguments and delays led to the UK withdrawing on April 26^th 1996 and starting its own national project, the Type 45 destroyer.

Specifications

French Version

• Type: Air Warfare Destroyer
• Service Period: 2007-
• Characteristics
  • Length: 501 feet 7 inches (152.88 meters)
  • Beam: 66 feet 7 inches (20.3 meters)
  • Draft: 17 feet 9 inches (5.41 meters)
  • Displacement: 5,600 tons (Standard); 7,050 tons (Full Load)
• Crew: 174 (26 officers, 110 petty officers, 38 sailors)
• Propulsion: 2 x 31,280 hp GE/Avio General Electric LM2500 gas turbines, 2 x 5,875 hp SEMT Pielstick 12 PA6 STC diesels, 1 x beam propulsor, 2 x 4-blade propellers
• Range: 7,000 nautical miles (13,964 kilometers) at 18 knots (33.34 km/hr), 3,500 nautical miles (6,482 kilometers) at 25 knots (46.3 km/hr)
• Speed: 31.5 knots (58.34 km/hr)
• Sensor Suite:
  • EMPAR Phased Array G band multifunction radar
  • S1850M long range radar
  • Thales UMS 4110 CL sonar
  • Towed linear antenna with Alto torpedo detector
• Countermeasures
  • Radar Jammer
  • Communications Jammer
  • 2 x SCLAR-H chaff, decoy and flares launchers
  • 1 x NGDS system (2 decoy launchers, REM, RIR, LAD)
  • 1 x Contralto system (2 acoustic decoy launchers)
• Armament
  • 2 x Otobreda 76mm Super Rapid naval guns
  • 6 x 8-cell Sylver A50 VLS (fires 48 Aster 15/Aster 30 SAMs)
  • 1 x Sadral launcher with 6 Mistral missiles
  • 8 x Exocet MM40 AShMs
  • 2 x MU90 torpedo tubes
  • 2 x SLAT anti torpedo system
  • 2 x 20 mm modèle F2 gun
• Aircraft Carried: 1 (capacity of 2) NH90 or EH101 helicopter (radar ENR, sonar Flash, LADT 11, Marte missiles or MU90 Impact torpedoes)

Italian Version

• Type: Air Warfare Destroyer
• Service Period: 2007-
• Characteristics
  • Length: 501 feet 7 inches (152.88 meters)
  • Beam: 66 feet 7 inches (20.3 meters)
  • Draft: 17 feet 9 inches (5.41 meters)
  • Displacement: 5,600 tons (Standard); 7,050 tons (Full Load)
• Crew: 174 (26 officers, 110 petty officers, 38 sailors)
• Propulsion: 2 x 31,280 hp GE/Avio General Electric LM2500 gas turbines, 2 x 5,875 hp SEMT Pielstick 12 PA6 STC diesels, 1 x beam propulsor, 2 x 4-blade propellers
• Range: 7,000 nautical miles (13,964 kilometers) at 18 knots (33.34 km/hr), 3,500 nautical miles (6,482 kilometers) at 25 knots (46.3 km/hr)
• Speed: 31.5 knots (58.34 km/hr)
• Sensor Suite
  • Surface search radar in E/F band Selex RAN 30X/I (RASS)
  • Multi-functional 3D phased array radar in G band Selex SPY-790 (EMPAR) (Principal sensor of PAAMS)
  • Long Range 3D Radar in D band Thales/Selex S1850M
  • Secondary Surveillance Radar Selex SIR R/S
  • Navigation and Helo decking radar in I band Selex SPN 753(V)4 (NAVR)
  • Multi-Sensor target indiction system NA 25X (Radar and electro-optical sensor RTN-30X) x 2
  • Bispectral IR detection and tracking system Sagem Vampir MB (IRAS)
  • ESM System SLQ-750 made-up by a WB (Wideband) receiver and 2 HSFA (Superheterodyne) receivers
  • Medium frequency hull sonar Thales UMS 4110CL
• Countermeasures
  • Radar Jammers x 2
  • Oto Melara SCLAR-H decoys launcher system for chaff and flares x 2
  • Low Frequency Towed Array Sonar
  • Acoustic Decoy Launchers x 2
• Armament
  • 2 x Otobreda 76mm Super Rapid naval guns
  • 6 x 8-cell Sylver A50 VLS (fires 48 Aster 15/Aster 30 SAMs)
  • 8 x 8 S/S Teseo Mk2/A missile launchers
  • 2 x MU90 torpedo tubes
  • 2 x SLAT anti torpedo system
  • 2 x Oto Melara Oerlikon KBA 25/80 mm guns
• Aircraft Carried: 1 (capacity of 2) NH90 or EH101 helicopter (radar ENR, sonar Flash, LADT 11, Marte missiles or MU90 Impact torpedoes)

Unit Run

Marina Militare

• ITS Andrea Doria (D553)
• ITS Caio Duilio (D554)
• ITS Giuseppe Fioravanzo (D555)
• ITS Junio Valerio Borghese (D556)

Marine Nationale

• MN Forbin (D620)
• MN Chevalier Paul (D621)
• MN Jean-Baptiste Colbert (D622)
• MN François Flohic (D623)

See Also

• Aquitaine-class (French variant of the FREMM frigate)
• Bergamini-class (Italian variant of the FREMM frigate)
• Daring-class