F-110 Frigate

Spain's new Aegis frigate — the F-110, or Bonifaz-class — is Navantia's high-end multi-mission warship, pairing Lockheed Martin's solid-state SPY-7 radar and the Aegis combat system with a Spanish-designed integrated sensor mast and one of Europe's most digitally-built hulls. Conceived as a balanced anti-submarine and air-defence frigate and a showcase for Spain's "Shipyard 4.0" digital-twin construction, it is the successor to the combat-proven F100 and the new backbone of the Spanish Navy's escort force.

Overview

The F-110 (Bonifaz-class) is a multi-mission guided-missile frigate built by Navantia for the Spanish Navy (Armada). It is designed as a balanced, high-end combatant — strong in anti-submarine warfare and area air defence — built around the Aegis weapon system in Navantia's own SCOMBA combat-management implementation, with the American AN/SPY-7(V)2 solid-state radar at its core. Its most visible innovation is an integrated mast (MASTIN) that consolidates sensors, antennas and electronic-warfare arrays into one low-signature structure, reducing radar cross-section and electromagnetic interference. The class also pioneers Navantia's digital "Shipyard 4.0" approach, including a digital twin of the ship. Five are planned to replace the older Santa María-class frigates and complement the Aegis F100, making the F-110 the modern heart of Spain's surface fleet.

Development

Spain's F-110 program developed over the 2010s, with the integrated-mast and sensor work pursued by an Indra–Navantia consortium (Protec 110) from around 2011–2015 and the build contract maturing into construction that began in 2022 at Navantia's Ferrol shipyard, per Naval News and Wikipedia. The lead ship, Bonifaz (F-111), was launched at Ferrol in September 2025, per Euro-SD. A defining choice was sensors: Spain acquired Lockheed Martin's AN/SPY-7(V)2 radar and the International Aegis Fire Control Loop via US Foreign Military Sales, integrated by Navantia with its SCOMBA system — radar tracks were validated on SCOMBA consoles at the Aegis integration centre in Moorestown, per Army Recognition. The program is also a flagship of Navantia's digital-shipbuilding ("Shipyard 4.0") modernization. Five ships are planned, entering service across the late 2020s.

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