Overview
- The State Department approved a possible sale valued at up to $1.7 billion to support a mid-life upgrade of five Álvaro de Bazán–class frigates.
- DSCA said Spain requested five Aegis Weapon System shipsets, six digital signal processor shipsets, five MK 41 Baseline VIII vertical launchers, and five next-generation surface search radars.
- The package includes UHF satellite communications terminals, M‑code GPS receivers, AN/SRQ‑4 hardware, NIXIE SLQ‑25E upgrades, torpedo system enhancements, MK 45 gun support, classified software, training, spares, and logistics.
- Lockheed Martin, RTX, Ultra Maritime Naval Systems and Sensors, and General Dynamics are named as principal U.S. contractors.
- U.S. officials said the upgrade bolsters Spain’s interoperability and theater ballistic missile defense role without degrading U.S. readiness or altering the regional military balance, and implementation will involve temporary U.S. and contractor support in Spain with no offsets identified to date.