YB Senator Liew: Today I was given a tour of the Spanish Navy Frigate F-104 Méndez Núñez, an Álvaro de Bazán-class guided missile frigate.
The Méndez Núñez and her crew are currently on a celebratory voyage on the 500th anniversary of Ferdinand Magellan’s circumnavigation of the Earth’s oceans and seas in 1519.
The Méndez Núñez is an Aegis-equipped missile frigate, utilizing it’s AN/SPY-1D radar and it’s Mk 41 vertical launch cells (loaded with SM-2R and Evolved Sea Sparrow Missiles) to efficiently engage and defeat multiple, simultaneous aerial attacks.
When linked with other Aegis-equipped vessels, several of these frigates can create a strong, overlapping aerial defence umbrella that is practically impenetrable, save for the most persistent and numerous attackers.