ARV General Urdaneta

ARV General Urdaneta (F-23) was the third ship of the Mariscal Sucre-class frigate of the Venezuelan Navy.

ARV General Urdaneta on 1 June 1987
History
Venezuela
Name	General Urdaneta
Namesake	General Urdaneta
Ordered	1975
Builder	Cantieri Riuniti dell'Adriatico, Ancona
Laid down	23 January 1978
Launched	23 March 1979
Commissioned	8 August 1981
Decommissioned	2014
Homeport	Puerto Cabello
Identification	Pennant number: F-23
Motto	Patria honor y mar (Homeland honor and sea)
Status	Decommissioned
General characteristics
Class & type	Mariscal Sucre-class frigate
Displacement	2.506 t (2.466 long tons) full load
Length	113.2 m (371 ft) LOA
Beam	11.3 m (37 ft)
Draft	3.7 m (12 ft)
Propulsion	- CODOG scheme - 2 x shaft - 2 x GE / Fiat LM2500 gas turbines 50,000 shp (37,000 kW) - 2 x diesel engines Grandi Motori Trieste GMT A230-20 diesel engines 7,800 shp (5.8 MW) - 4 x diesel engine generators Grandi Motori Trieste GMT 236SS, 3,000 kW (4,000 shp)
Speed	35 kn (65 km/h) with gas turbines 21 kn (39 km/h) with diesels
Range	4,300 nmi (8,000 km) at 16 kn (30 km/h)
Complement	185 (20 officers)
Sensors & processing systems	- Selenia SADOC 2 combat management system - 1 x Selenia SPS-774 (RAN-10S) early warning radar - 1 x Selenia SPQ-2F CORA OTH surface search radar - 1 x Selenia SPS-702 (or RAN-11L/X) air/surface search radar - 1 x Selenia SPG-70 (RTN-10X) fire control radar - 1 x Raytheon Mk 95 fire control radar - 2 x Selenia SPG-74 (RTN-20X) fire control radar - 1 x GEM Elettronica AN/SPN-748 navigation radar - Raytheon DE 1160B (SQS-56) hull sonar
Electronic warfare & decoys	- SLR-4 ESM system - SLQ-D ECM system - AN/SLQ-25 Nixie torpedo decoy - 2 x Breda SCLAR decoy launchers
Armament	- 8 x Otomat Mk 2 SSMs - 1 x Mk.29 octuple launcher for Sea Sparrow/Aspide SAM - 2 x Mark 32 triple torpedo tubes - 1 x OTO Melara 127/54 mm gun - 2 x OTO Melara Twin 40L70 DARDO compact gun
Aircraft carried	1 AB-212ASW helicopter
Aviation facilities	Flight deck: 25.2 m × 11.3 m (83 ft × 37 ft) Telescopic hangar for 1 medium helicopter.

Development and design

Main article: Mariscal Sucre-class frigate

Venezuela ordered six Lupo-class frigates from CNR in 1975 as a replacement for older warships. These units were commissioned between 1980 and 1982. In general terms, their appearance and equipment is similar to those built for Peru, except for some differences in electronics and missiles. The first two ships, ARV Mariscal Sucre (F-21) and ARV Almirante Brión (F-22) were upgraded by Ingalls Shipbuilding over a four years period (1998–2002). The other ships in Venezuelan service were expected to undergo an austere version of this upgrade, but three ships were eventually taken out of service.

Construction and career

General Urdaneta was laid down in June 1977 and launched on 22 February 1979 by Cantieri Riuniti dell'Adriatico at Ancona. She was commissioned on 7 March 1981.

Over the years she has participated in multiple important naval exercises and has been the flagship of the multinational UNITAS exercise.

On 1 January 1990, she came alongside USS Hayler during UNITAS 1990.

With the change of name of the Venezuelan naval force, the unit prefix changed from ARV (Armada de la República de Venezuela) to AB (Armada Bolivariana).^[1]

She has been drydocked at Puerto Cabello shipyard since 2014.^[2]

ARV General Urdaneta completed her operational fleet refit in the 4 Missile Frigates, which already completed the fairing, axles, valves and electrical work in April 2015.^[3]

Gallery

• 
  ARV General Urdaneta and ARV General Salóm on 1 June 1984.
• 
  ARV General Urdaneta on 1 June 1984.