NNS Aradu to get new guns, combat systems

NNS Aradu which is a Meko 360 class frigate designed by the German Blohm + Voss company of Hamburg in 1980 is to be refurbished and modernized by Turkish Dearsan Shipyard in a contract signed in May this year.

Tahir Conka, the Business Fevelopment Manager at Dearsan Shipyard at the IDEF 2023 defence exhibition in Turkey commented on the planned modernization project for the Nigerian navy’s flagship NNS Aradu.

In May this year, it was revealed during the Presidential Fleet Review 2023, that the NNS Aradu will be taken to Istanbul, Turkey for refit and returned within 24 months.

Tahir Conka revealed recently at the IDEF 2023 that the NNS Aradu’s navigation, communications, sensors, and electro-optical suite will be modernized. While the combat system will be partially replaced. Also, the 40 mm guns will be replaced with a newer more modern variant. The ship’s hull which was scanned by Dearsan and found to be defective due to age will be strengthened.

NNS Aradu (F89) (meaning "thunder" in Hausa) is a Nigerian frigate. She is the first of the MEKO 360 general-purpose frigates built by the German Blohm + Voss company of Hamburg. The 125.6-metre (412 ft 1 in) ship is the largest in the Nigerian Navy. As a general-purpose frigate, Aradu has capabilities for anti-air, anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare effectively, and participated in the 200th anniversary celebrations of the Battle of Trafalgar. The ship also possesses the capability for naval fire support and electronic warfare. Additionally, she carries a ship-borne helicopter for anti-submarine warfare, search and rescue, and enhanced surveillance/detection.

The ship is armed with eight Otomat Mk 1 ship-to-ship missiles carried amidships with four situated behind the mast and forward the twin funnels and two each amidships on each side of the ship. The vessel is also armed with twenty-four Aspide surface-to-air missiles in an octuple launcher mounted atop the hangar. Aradu is armed with one 5 in (127 mm) OTO Melara Otobreda 127/54 Compact gun mounted forward and four twin-mounted Bofors 40 mm guns situated forward behind the 5-inch gun and to either side of the hangar.

Aradu also has six STWS-13 324 mm (13 in) torpedo tubes in two triple mounts located amidships on either side of the ship and one depth charge rack.

The Otomat Mk 1 is a short-range subsonic anti-ship missile developed by the Italian company Oto Melara jointly with Matra. It is capable of reaching around 180 kilometres at an average speed of 1,100 kilometres per hour.

It is not yet certain if new missile systems will be fitted onboard NNS Aradu. The old stock of Albatross SAM and Otomat Mk 1 anti-ship missiles has since been destroyed by the Nigerian Navy due to their age.

Other equipment and weapons carried include 6 x 324 mm torpedoes and a depth charge rack. Both are for anti-submarine warfare. An ECM suite is fitted, with a Decca RDL-2 ESM system, and two chaff mortars. Aradu is equipped with Plessey AWS 5 air/surface search radar, Racal Decca 1226 navigation radar, Signaal STIR and WM 25 fire control radar and Atlas Elektronik hull-mounted sonar. The ship originally mounted PHS 32 sonar, but this was later replaced. The frigate mounts two chaff dispensers and Decca RDL-2 electronic support measures. The ship has a hangar and flight deck capable of operating two helicopters of the Westland Lynx Mk.89 type, but usually only carries one. The vessel has a complement of 195, including 26 officers.

For propulsion, the ship is powered by a CODOG system made up of two Rolls-Royce Olympus TM3B gas turbines rated at 50,000 shaft horsepower (37,000 kW) giving the ship a maximum speed of 30.5 knots (56.5 km/h; 35.1 mph) during use and two MTU Type V 956 TH92 diesel engines rated at 10,420 brake horsepower (7,770 kW) with a maximum speed of 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph) under use. The engines turn two Kamewa controllable pitch propellers and the vessel carries 440 long tons (450 t) of fuel. This gives the frigate a range of 6,500 nautical miles (12,000 km; 7,500 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph), with an endurance of 90 days.

Since 2010, Aradu (Hausa for “Thunder”) has been inoperable due to lack of funding. However, in February 2020, the frigate underwent a refit at the Naval Dockyard Limited in Victoria Island, Lagos. By September that year, NNS Aradu sailed again albeit under the for the first time in several years.

Dearsan has also signed a contract with Nigeria to supply two offshore patrol vessels, as well as a 57-meter Tuzla patrol boat. The Nigerian Navy’s newly acquired Tuzla patrol boat built by Dearsan Shipyards in Turkey will be fitted with a more reduced armament load out to reflect its role as an offshore patrol vessel.

The OPVs are being constructed as part of a contract signed between Dearsan and the Nigerian Navy In August 2021. the Nigerian Navy (NN) announced its intention to procure two new offshore patrol vessels (OPV) after it received approval from former President Muhammadu Buhari.

Turkish DEARSAN Shipyard officially started the construction of two OPV-76 Offshore Patrol Vessels for the Nigerian Navy with a keel laying ceremony held on September 16, 2022. OPV-76 ships will be fitted with four MAN product diesel engines (18VP185), and it is stated that the vessels can reach a maximum speed of 28 knots. Constructed in line with the Türk Loydu Ship Classification rules, the hulls of OPV-76s will be made of steel sheets, and marine aluminium (Sealium) will be used in the ship superstructure. The operational range of the ships is stated as 2.500nm (nautical miles). A contract was signed with HeliPLAT Co.Ltd. for the certification engineering, testing, and HAT/SAT activities of the helicopter platform on the OPV-76 ships.

The two new Turkish-built OPV 76 will further enhance Nigeria’s naval capacity currently served by two P-18N OPVS, two Hamilton-class patrol cutters, several fast patrol missile boats, and several inshore patrol vessels.

They will be used for maritime interdiction operations, surveillance and special forces operations as well as providing naval fire support to land forces. “The OPVs will also be capable of conducting search and rescue operations, anti-piracy, anti-smuggling and anti-drug trafficking operations and disaster relief operations among others,” former Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Gambo said.

The Nigerian Navy continues to follow its multi-year fleet renewal strategic plan which was formulated in 2009, and is outlined thus; short, medium, and long-term.

In the short-term two light frigates, two 85-meter OPVs, six 17-meter Manta Class IPCs, two 38-meter FPBs, six Shaldag MK 11 patrol crafts two combat Augusta A138 helicopters, one Landing Platform Dock, and two Logistics Ships.

The medium-term spanning two to five years would require ten OPVs, 20 helicopters, one hydrographic ship, two training ships, two logistics ships, and two mine countermeasure vessels (MCMVs).

In the long term spanning between five to ten years, the Nigerian Navy will require three Conventional Submarines, two corvettes, two LPDs, 20 long-range maritime patrol helicopters, two training ships, and two MCMVs.

Recent NN acquisitions include NNS LANA, a 35m Hydrographic Survey Ship, construction work is ongoing for an LST-100 landing ship tank.

Nigeria has also indicated interest in procuring a general-purpose frigate to replace the former naval flagship Nigerian Navy Ship NNS ARADU