HMCS Regina (FFH 334)

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HMCS ''Regina'' is a that has served in the Canadian Forces and Royal Canadian Navy since 1993. ''Regina'' is the fifth vessel in her class which is the name for the Canadian Patrol Frigate Project. She is the second vessel to carry the designation . She is assigned to Maritime Forces Pacific (MARPAC) and is homeported at CFB Esquimalt.

Design and description

The ''Halifax''-class frigate design of which ''Regina'' belongs, was ordered by the Canadian Forces in 1977 as a replacement for the aging , , , and es of destroyer escorts , which were all tasked with anti-submarine warfare.Milner, p. 284 In July 1983, the federal government approved the budget for the design and construction of the first batch of six new frigates of which ''Regina'' was a part, out of twelve that were eventually built.Macpherson and Barrie, p. 291 To reflect the changing long term strategy of the Navy during the 1980s and 1990s, the ''Halifax''-class frigates was designed as a general purpose warship with particular focus on anti-submarine capabilities.

As built, the ''Halifax''-class vessels displaced and were long overall and between perpendiculars with a beam of and a draught of .Saunders, p. 90 That made them slightly larger than the ''Iroquois''-class destroyers. The vessels are propelled by two shafts with Escher Wyss controllable pitch propellers driven by a CODOG system of two General Electric LM2500 gas turbines, generating and one SEMT Pielstick 20 PA6 V 280 diesel engine, generating .

This gives the frigates a maximum speed of and a range of at while using their diesel engines. Using their gas turbines, the ships have a range of at . The ''Halifax'' class have a complement of 198 naval personnel of which 17 are officers and 17 aircrew of which 8 are officers.

Armament and aircraft

As built the ''Halifax''-class vessels deployed the CH-124 Sea King helicopter, which acted in concert with shipboard sensors to seek out and destroy submarines at long distances from the ships. The ships have a helicopter deck fitted with a " bear trap" system allowing the launch and recovery of helicopters in up to sea state 6. The ''Halifax'' class also carries a close-in anti-submarine weapon in the form of the Mark 46 torpedo, launched from twin Mark 32 Mod 9 torpedo tubes in launcher compartments either side of the forward end of the helicopter hangar.

As built, the anti-shipping role is supported by the RGM-84 Harpoon Block 1C surface-to-surface missile, mounted in two quadruple launch tubes at the main deck level between the funnel and the helicopter hangar. For anti-aircraft self-defence the ships are armed with the Sea Sparrow vertical launch surface-to-air missile in two Mk 48 Mod 0 eight-cell launchers placed to port and starboard of the funnel. The vessels carry 16 missiles. A Raytheon/General Dynamics Phalanx Mark 15 Mod 21 Close-In Weapon System (CIWS) is mounted on top of the helicopter hangar for "last-ditch" defence against targets that evade the Sea Sparrow.

As built, the main gun on the forecastle is a /70 calibre Mark 2 gun from Bofors. The gun is capable of firing shells at a rate of 220 rounds per minute at a range of more than .

Countermeasures and sensors

As built, the decoy system comprises Two BAE Systems Shield Mark 2 decoy launchers which fire chaff to and infrared rockets to in distraction, confusion and centroid seduction modes. The torpedo decoy is the AN/SLQ-25A Nixie towed acoustic decoy from Argon ST. The ship's radar warning receiver, the CANEWS (Canadian Electronic Warfare System), SLQ-501, and the radar jammer, SLQ-505, were developed by Thorn and Lockheed Martin Canada.

Two Thales Nederland (formerly Signaal) SPG-503 (STIR 1.8) fire control radars are installed one on the roof of the bridge and one on the raised radar platform immediately forward of the helicopter hangar. The ship is also fitted with Raytheon AN/SPS-49(V)5 long-range active air search radar operating at C and D bands, Ericsson HC150 Sea Giraffe medium-range air and surface search radar operating at G and H bands, and Kelvin Hughes Type 1007 I-band navigation radar. The sonar suite includes the CANTASS Canadian Towed Array and GD-C AN/SQS-510 hull mounted sonar and incorporates an acoustic range prediction system. The sonobuoy processing system is the GD-C AN/UYS-503.

Modernization

The ''Halifax'' class underwent a modernization program, known as the Halifax Class Modernization (HCM) program, in order to update the frigates' capabilities in combatting modern smaller, faster and more mobile threats. This involved upgrading the command and control, radar, communications, electronic warfare and armament systems. Further improvements, such as modifying the vessel to accommodate the new Sikorsky CH-148 Cyclone helicopter and satellite links will be done separately from the main Frigate Equipment Life Extension (FELEX) program.

The FELEX program comprised upgrading the combat systems integration to CMS330. The SPS-49 2D long range air search radar was replaced by the Thales Nederland SMART-S Mk 2 E/F-band 3D surveillance radar, and the two STIR 1.8 fire control radars were replaced by a pair of Saab Ceros 200 re-control radars. A Telephonics IFF Mode 5/S interrogator was installed and the Elisra NS9003A-V2HC ESM system replaced the SLQ-501 CANEWS. An IBM multi-link (Link 11, Link 16 and Link 22 enabled) datalink processing system was installed along with two Raytheon Anschütz Pathfinder Mk II navigation radars. Furthermore, Rheinmetall's Multi-Ammunition Soft kill System (MASS), known as MASS DUERAS was introduced to replace the Plessey Shield decoy system. The existing 57 mm Mk 2 guns were upgraded to the Mk 3 standard and the Harpoon missiles were improved to Block II levels, the Phalanx was upgraded to Block 1B and the obsolete Sea Sparrow system was replaced by the Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile.

Service history

''Regina'' was laid down on 6 October 1989 by Marine Industries at Sorel, Quebec and launched on 25 October 1991. The ship was provisionally accepted on 2 March 1994, and following sea trials, sailed to CFB Esquimalt. The frigate was commissioned into the Canadian Forces there on 30 September 1994 and carries the hull classification symbol FFH 334.Macpherson and Barrie, p. 294

In May 1995, with sister ship , ''Regina'' sailed to Southeast Asia for naval exercises. The following year in March, this time with the auxiliary ship , the destroyer and frigate , ''Regina'' returned to the Eastern Pacific for naval exercises. During this trip the ship visited Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, the first North American warship to do so since the Vietnam War. On the return trip, the task group participated in the RIMPAC naval exercise off the coast of Hawaii. In February 1997, the ship sailed to join a United States Navy carrier battle group in the Persian Gulf to enforce trade sanctions on Iraq. The ship returned to the Persian Gulf from June to December 1999 with the carrier battle group to enforce sanctions again. In February 2003, ''Regina'' deployed to the Indian Ocean as part of Operation Apollo in support of the War in Afghanistan. The ship remained in theatre until May.

''Regina'' sailed from Esquimalt on 3 July 2012 to the Arabian Sea and joined Combined Task Force 150 on 21 August. She returned home on 14 March 2013.

In 2013, ''Regina'' visited Manila, Philippines for a goodwill visit to the Philippines. In 2014 ''Regina'' operated off the coast of Somalia as part of Operation Artemis. On 30 April 2014 the Canadian government announced that ''Regina'' would be dispatched to assist in NATO operations, concerning the crisis in the Ukraine. The frigate began her FELEX refit in May 2015 and returned to service on 29 April 2016 at CFB Esquimalt.

On 6 February 2019, ''Regina'' and departed Esquimalt for Pacific operations with other nations' navies. On 18 February, a Cyclone helicopter from ''Regina'' was attempting to land on ''Asterix'' and was damaged in the operation. ''Regina'', ''Asterix'' and the damaged Cyclone were redirected to Guam to undergo inspection. No damage was reported to ''Asterix'', and following air tests of the repaired Cyclone, all three ships resumed their deployment. In March 2019, ''Regina'' and ''Asterix'' parted ways, with ''Regina'' deployed to the Middle East as part of Operation Artemis beginning on 26 March. In the Indian Ocean, ''Regina'' intercepted a dhow and boarded it, seizing of hashish in 119 bags. As the vessel was international waters, the dhow and its crew were released. The hashish was destroyed. The frigate intercepted a second vessel, this time an unregistered fishing vessel, and seized of hashish in 150 bags. A third seizure took place on 24 April, with of hashish and of heroin netted from a stateless fishing vessel in international waters off Oman and Yemen. The frigate then took part in exercises with a French task force including the , followed up by a fourth seizure of of hashish on 3 May. On 18 June ''Regina'' transited the Taiwan Strait as part of a freedom of navigation mission. During the transit alongside ''Asterix'', the ship was "buzzed" by two Chinese Sukhoi Su-30 fighter aircraft when they flew at a height of within of the frigate. The vessel returned to Canada on 19 August 2019 having participated in enforcing United Nations sanctions on North Korea and participating in Operation Talisman Sabre 19, a biennial naval exercise with the United States and Australian navies.

In November 2019, ''Regina'' received a new "dazzle camouflage" in 1944 colours to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Battle of the Atlantic.

On 29 August 2020, ''Regina'' fired two Harpoon missiles for SINKEX of RIMPAC 2020.

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External links

HMCS ''Regina'' (FFH 334) – official website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Regina, HMCS
Fleet of the Royal Canadian Navy
Halifax-class frigates
1992 ships
Ships built in Lévis