Фрегат HMCS Charlottetown: История и модернизация

Royal Canadian Navy frigate

HMCS Charlottetown is a that has served in the Royal Canadian Navy since 1995. Charlottetown is the tenth ship in her class which is based on the Canadian Patrol Frigate Project. She is the third vessel to carry the designation Charlottetown, assigned to Maritime Forces Atlantic (MARLANT) and homeported at CFB Halifax, serves on missions protecting Canada's sovereignty in the Atlantic Ocean and enforcing Canadian laws in its territorial sea and exclusive economic zone. Charlottetown has also participated in several NATO missions, patrolling the Atlantic Ocean as part of Standing Naval Force Atlantic (STANAVFORLANT) and its successors Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 and 2 (SNMG1 / SNMG2). Charlottetown has also been deployed on missions throughout the Atlantic and to the Indian Ocean, specifically the Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea on anti terrorism operations.

The Halifax class frigate design, emerging from the Canadian Patrol Frigate Project, 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. Charlottetown was ordered in December 1987 as part of the second batch of frigates. 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. That made them slightly larger than the Iroquois class destroyers. 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.

Charlottetowns keel was laid down on 18 December 1993 by Saint John Shipbuilding Ltd. at Saint John, New Brunswick. The vessel was launched on 1 October 1994 and commissioned into the Canadian Forces on 9 September 1995 at Charlottetown, carrying the hull classification symbol FFH 339. In 1996, the frigate sailed to join NATO's Standing Naval Force Atlantic (STANAVFORLANT) and performed a series of naval exercises with Eastern European nations. In 1997, after becoming the first Canadian warship to pass beneath the Confederation Bridge, the vessel participated in US naval exercises. In 1998, Charlottetown performed another stint with STANAVFORLANT beginning in February, replacing sister ship Charlottetown was incorporated into a US amphibious ready group escorting United States Marine Corps troop transports near Pakistan.

On 2 March 2011, Charlottetown left its home port of Halifax to join the NATO led air sea Operation Unified Protector during the 2011 Libyan civil war. Charlottetown worked in conjunction with an American carrier battle group led by the aircraft carrier Enterprise. The stated mission was to help restore peace, evacuate Canadian citizens in Libya and provide humanitarian relief. On 18 March the Canadian government expanded the mission by announcing that HMCS Charlottetown, in addition to six CF 18 fighter aircraft and two CC 177 transport aircraft, would constitute Canada's contribution to the enforcement of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973, aimed to protect Libya's civilian population (Operation Mobile). By 21 March, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reported that Charlottetown was patrolling the waters off north Libya. On 12 May, the frigate engaged several small boats involved in an attack on the port city of Misrata. Later that month on 30 May, the frigate came under fire from a dozen BM 21 rockets while patrolling off the Libyan coast, but no damage or injuries were reported. In July 2011, relieved Charlottetown, which returned to Halifax. Charlottetown departed Halifax on 8 January 2012 to join the NATO led mission Operation Active Endeavor. The mission was an anti terrorism deployment to the Mediterranean Sea. At the time of departure Commander Wade Carter said to the media that there were no plans for Charlottetown to intervene in the conflict in Syria. The frigate was sent to relieve HMCS Vancouver.

Charlottetown transited the Suez Canal on 23 April 2012 to join Combined Task Force 150, conducting counter terrorism operations in the Arabian Sea. She returned to Halifax on 11 September 2012. While on deployment, Charlottetown was the test ship for the unmanned aerial vehicle Boeing Insitu ScanEagle. During her service in the Arabian Sea one of the ScanEagle UAVs, which had been deployed from the ship, was lost due to engine failure. The navy later denied that it had been found by Iran, which had captured a ScanEagle drone around the same time. On 27 June 2016 Charlottetown sailed from Halifax to join NATO's Operation Reassurance in the Mediterranean Sea. While deployed overseas, twenty members of the crew contracted hand, foot, and mouth disease. In October, Charlottetown took part in the multinational naval exercise Joint Warrior off the coast of Scotland. The vessel returned to Canada on 13 January 2017 and conducted a full crew change. During the deployment, Charlottetown patrolled the Baltic Sea in August taking part in exercise Northern Coast, on completion she transited south taking part in the NATO naval exercise Brilliant Mariner in the Mediterranean Sea in September–October. Charlottletown returned to Halifax on 19 January 2018, having visited eleven ports during the deployment. In August, Charlottetown and departed Halifax to take part in Operation Nanook, travelling to Iqaluit, Nunavut and Nuuk, Greenland.