Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Chapter · 53:50-55:42

Horizon and FREMM show what multinational cooperation preserves

Horizon and FREMM connect shared design work with national choices over missile capacity, guns and external appearance.

Fremm Class FrigatesHorizon Class FrigatesNaval ProcurementNFR-90 Frigate ProgrammeOTO Melara 76 mmRiver Class Offshore Patrol VesselsType 45 Destroyer
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Notes

Horizon and FREMM continued multinational cooperation after NFR-90, with Horizon coming first. British withdrawal from Horizon drew criticism because the resulting Type 45 did not deliver the larger missile battery sought in the argument. Bringing the OTO Melara 76 mm gun into Royal Navy service on Type 45 could also have encouraged its use on River-class offshore patrol vessels and other ships. That is a proposed benefit of a different armament choice, rather than an outcome of the actual programme. French and Italian FREMMs look different while retaining substantial common engineering underneath. Their visible national differences therefore give an incomplete picture of how much technical cooperation the programme achieved.