Halifax Class Frigate

Halifax Class Frigate

The Halifax-class frigate (hull designation FFH) is a class of multi-role patrol frigates that have served the Royal Canadian Navy since 1992 . The class is the product of the Canadian Patrol Frigate Project, which dates to the mid-1970s.

HMCS Halifax (FFH 330) was the first of an eventual twelve Canadian-designed and -built vessels which combine traditional anti-submarine capabilities with systems to deal with surface and air threats as well. The Halifax class are the work horses of the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) which deploys them extensively in task groups. All ships of the class are named after major Canadian cities, with at least one from each province (Ontario and Quebec, the most populous provinces, have two each). They are sometimes referred to as 'City'-class vessels.

In 2007 the Canadian government announced a planned refit of the Halifax class which will be known as the Halifax Class Modernization Project (HCMP) or alternately as the Frigate Life Extension (FELEX). In November 2008, a Lockheed Martin, Canada, led team also including Saab AB, Elisra, IBM Canada, CAE Professional Services, L-3 Electronic Systems and xwave, was awarded the contract.

In October 2011 the Canadian government announced in the National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy that it would be ordering 15 warships under the Single Class Surface Combatant Project to replace the 3 Iroquois class destroyers and 12 Halifax class frigates, beginning in 2016.