The MEKO 140 is a
frigate
A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat.
The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...
/
corvette
A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the slo ...
design by the German
Blohm + Voss
Blohm+Voss (B+V), also written historically as Blohm & Voss, Blohm und Voß etc., is a German shipbuilding and engineering company. Founded in Hamburg in 1877 to specialise in steel-hulled ships, its most famous product was the World War II battle ...
shipyard as part of the
MEKO
The MEKO family of warships was developed by the German company Blohm+Voss. MEKO is a registered trademark. The portmanteau stands for "''Mehrzweck-Kombination''" (English: multi-purpose-combination). It is a concept in modern naval shipbuilding b ...
family of vessels. The MEKO 140 is a development of the
Portuguese Navy
The Portuguese Navy ( pt, Marinha Portuguesa, also known as ''Marinha de Guerra Portuguesa'' or as ''Armada Portuguesa'') is the naval branch of the Portuguese Armed Forces which, in cooperation and integrated with the other branches of the Port ...
's s designed by the Portuguese naval engineer Rogério de Oliveira in the late 1960s – three ships of which were built Blohm + Voss in 1970, as an outsourcing.
Concept and development
MEKO is a concept in modern naval shipbuilding based on modularity of armament, electronics, and other equipment, aiming at ease of maintenance and cost reduction. Vessels of similar classes can use different weapons systems, as required by the customer. The MEKO 140 was designed in the late 1970s, and was chosen by the Argentine Navy to complement the
MEKO 360
The MEKO 360 is a class of five ships built in Germany for the Argentine and Nigerian navies. The MEKO 360 was the first version of the MEKO family of vessels built by Blohm und Voss. The type comes in two variants, the MEKO 360H1, comprising one ...
destroyers.
Variants
Six vessels of the MEKO 140 A16 variant were constructed in
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
by the Río Santiago Shipyards (AFNE) near
La Plata
La Plata () is the capital city of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. According to the , it has a population of 654,324 and its metropolitan area, the Greater La Plata, has 787,294 inhabitants. It is located 9 kilometers (6 miles) inland from th ...
for the
Argentine Navy
The Argentine Navy (ARA; es, Armada de la República Argentina). This forms the basis for the navy's ship prefix "ARA". is the navy of Argentina. It is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, together with the ...
. They are locally named as the and currently serve in the High Seas Fleet ("Flota de Mar").
Although considered by its designers to be frigates, the ''Espora''-class vessels have been classed in Argentina as corvettes.
External links
Argentine Navy (ARA) official site – class specifications & pictures{{in lang, es
Description of MEKO 140 concept and existing ships
Frigate classes
Corvette classes