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The corvette ARA Robinson | |
History | |
---|---|
Argentina | |
Name | Robinson |
Namesake | Carlos Robinson |
Builder | Río Santiago Shipyard |
Laid down | 1 March 1983 |
Launched | 25 November 1984 |
Commissioned | 28 August 2000 |
Homeport | Puerto Belgrano |
Status | Active |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | MEKO 140A16 Espora-class corvette |
Displacement | 1,560 tons (1,790 tons full load) [1] |
Length | 91.2 m (299 ft 3 in) [1] |
Beam | 11.0 m (36 ft 1 in) [1] |
Draught | 3.33 m (10 ft 11 in) [1] (hull) |
Installed power | 22,600 bhp (16.9 MW) [1] |
Propulsion | 2 × SEMT Pielstick 16 PC 2-5 V400 diesels, 2 × 5-blade props [1] |
Speed | 27 knots (50 km/h) [1] |
Range | 4,000 nautical miles (7,410 km) at 18 knots (33 km/h) [1] |
Complement | 11 officers, 46 petty officers, 36 enlisted [1] |
Sensors and processing systems |
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Electronic warfare & decoys |
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Armament |
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Aircraft carried | 1 × Eurocopter Fennec |
Aviation facilities | Helideck and telescoping hangar |
ARA Robinson (P-45) is the fifth ship of the MEKO 140A16 Espora class of six corvettes built for the Argentine Navy. The ship is the second ship to bear the name of British Captain Carlos Robinson, who fought in the Argentine Navy during the Cisplatine War and died commanding a squadron of gunboats during the Battle of La Colonia.
Robinson and her sister ships were part of the 1974 Naval Constructions National Plan, an initiative by the Argentine Navy to replace old World War II-vintage ships with more advanced warships. The original plan called for six MEKO 360H2 destroyers, four of them to be built in Argentina, but the plan was later modified to include four MEKO destroyers and six corvettes for anti-surface warfare and patrol operations.
Robinson was constructed at the Río Santiago Shipyard of the Astilleros y Fábricas Navales del Estado (State Shipyards and Naval Factories) state corporation. Her keel was laid down on 1 March 1983 and was launched on 25 November 1984. Fitting out of Robinson and her sister ship Gómez Roca was suspended in 1992, briefly resumed in July 1994 and finally started again on 18 July 1997. [1] Following the resumption of construction, the ship was delivered to the Navy in 2000 and commissioned in 2000.
As part of the second batch of the class, Robinson is fitted with a telescopic hangar. [1] All members of the class have the Thales DAISY combat system, but Robinson is the only one to have an indigenous command system as well. [1] Along with Gómez Roca she has improved automation, communication and electronic systems compared to earlier members of the class. [1]
Following her commissioning Robinson participated in several naval exercises and conducted fishery patrol duties in the Argentine exclusive economic zone. She also accompanied the flagship of Irish Naval Service, LÉ Eithne, during her 2006 visit to Argentina. Robinson is homeported at Puerto Belgrano Naval Base and is part of the Navy's 2nd Corvette Division with her five sister ships.
In March 2021, the ship began a general maintenance refit at the Tandanor shipyard. [2] In July 2021 the ARA Robinson entered service again. [3] In September she participated in a sea exercise also involving her sister ships Espora, Spiro and Gómez Roca, along with the destroyer Sarandí. [4] In 2022, she participated in an exercise off the coast of Mar del Plata with Sarandí, Espora, the corvette Rosales and the transport ship Canal Beagle. [5] In April 2024, the corvette was reportedly engaged in sea training. [6]
The Argentine Navy is the navy of Argentina. It is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, together with the Army and the Air Force.
ARA La Argentina is the second ship of the MEKO 360H2 series of four destroyers built for the Argentine Navy. The ship is the eighth ship in the history of the Argentine Navy to bear the name of the corsair frigate La Argentina which conducted a privateer raid around the world against Spanish trade in 1817.
ARA Sarandí is the fourth and last ship of the MEKO 360H2 series of destroyers built for the Argentine Navy. The ship is also the fourth ship in the Argentine Navy to bear that name. Sarandí is the name of a victory of the Argentine army during the Cisplatine War.
ARA Espora (P-41) is the lead ship of the MEKO 140A16 Espora class of six corvettes built for the Argentine Navy. Commissioned in 1985, she is used for fishery patrol. She is homeported at Puerto Belgrano Naval Base and is part of the Navy's 2nd Corvette Division with her five sister ships. The ship is the sixth ship to bear the name of Colonel (Navy) Tomás Espora, who fought in the Argentine Navy during the Cisplatine War. Generator failure left her stranded in South Africa for 73 days in late 2012.
ARA Rosales (P-42) is the second ship of the MEKO 140A16 Espora class of six corvettes built for the Argentine Navy. The ship is the fourth ship to bear the name of Colonel (Navy) Leonardo Rosales, who fought in the Argentine Navy during Argentina's war of independence and the Cisplatine War.
ARA Spiro (P-43) is the third ship of the MEKO 140A16 Espora class of six corvettes built for the Argentine Navy. The ship is the second ship to bear the name of the Greek-born Captain Samuel Spiro, who fought during the Argentine War of Independence and blew himself up with his ship rather than surrender to the Spanish forces following the battle of Arroyo de la China, in 1814.
ARA Parker (P-44) is the fourth ship of the MEKO 140A16 Espora class of six corvettes built for the Argentine Navy. The ship is the second ship to bear the name of Captain Enrique Guillermo Parker, who fought in the Argentine Navy as its second-in-command during the Cisplatine War.
ARA Gómez Roca (P-46) is the sixth and last ship of the MEKO 140A16 Espora class of six corvettes built in Germany for the Argentine Navy. The ship is the first ship to bear the name of Frigate Captain Sergio Gómez Roca, who commanded the Argentine patrol ship ARA Alferez Sobral during the Falklands War and died in action when the ship was attacked by Royal Navy helicopters. Originally the ship was to have been named Seaver after Captain Benjamin Seaver, a US-born naval hero of the Argentine War of Independence.
The MEKO 140 is a frigate/corvette design by the German Blohm + Voss shipyard as part of the MEKO family of vessels. The MEKO 140 is a development of the Portuguese Navy's João Coutinho-class corvettes 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.
The Espora-class corvettes are six warships of the Argentine Navy built in Argentina to the German MEKO 140A16 design, this in turn being based on the Portuguese João Coutinho-class project. The first entered service in 1985 but accidents and lack of funds meant the last was not completed until 2004. The ships currently form the 2nd Corvette Division of the Argentine Navy and their home port is the Puerto Belgrano Naval Base. Although considered by its designers to be frigates, the Espora-class vessels have been classed in Argentina as corvettes.
The Drummond class were three corvettes designed and built in France based on the A69 D'Estienne d'Orves-class avisos. The ships were commissioned in the Argentine Navy between 1978 and 1982.
The Intrépida class is a class of fast attack craft that was built by Lürssen for the Argentine Navy in the early 1970s. The ships are based on Lürssen's TNC 45 design.
ARA Drummond (P-31) was the lead ship of the Drummond class of three corvettes of the Argentine Navy. She was the second vessel to be named after Scottish-born Navy Sergeant Major Francisco Drummond.
ARA Guerrico (P-32) was a Drummond-class corvette of the Argentine Navy. She was the first vessel to be named after Rear Admiral Martín Guerrico who fought in the 19th century Paraguayan War.
The Sea Fleet Command is one of the commands in the Argentine Navy, headquartered at Puerto Belgrano Naval Base (BNPB).
ARA Piedrabuena (P-52) is the second ship of Argentinian Gowind-class offshore patrol vessel of the Argentinian Navy.
ARA Almirante Storni (P-53) is the third Gowind-class offshore patrol vessel constructed for the Argentinian Navy.
ARA Almirante Bartolomé Cordero (P-54) is the fourth and final Gowind-class offshore patrol vessel constructed for the Argentinian Navy.
ARA Intrépida(P-85) is the lead ship of the Intrépida-class fast attack craft of the Argentine Navy. The ship is the lead ship of its class and has a twin sister ship ARA Indómita (P-86). She is the second ship of the Argentina Navy to bear the name Intrépida.