Recently, the German Bundestag approved the F-127 next-generation air defense frigate project. According to the German Defense Forces, the F-127 frigate project plans to build six ships, which will enter service in the mid-1930s to replace the current F-124 anti-aircraft frigates. The leading unit of the project construction, ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems of Germany, stated that the F-127 frigate project will start construction as early as 2025, and the first ship is scheduled to enter service around 2034. The German Defense Forces view this project as a crucial step in enhancing their maritime operational security, and hope to bridge the gap in maritime air defense capabilities through this project, in order to maintain their leading position in naval shipbuilding technology. The F-127 frigate, which adopts the design of a super large hull, has a length of about 160 meters, a width of about 21 meters, a draft of 5.5 meters, and a full load displacement of over 10000 tons. The propulsion system may use the same diesel electric combined power as the F-126 frigate, equipped with two gas turbines and two diesel engines. The ship has a maximum speed of 32 knots, a range of 7400 kilometers, and a self-sustaining capacity at sea of over 30 days. The F-127 class frigate will adopt the design of the German Navy's F-125/126 class frigate with a wide platform and high spatial redundancy, which can provide a spacious and comfortable combat and living environment for the crew, while also reserving sufficient space for special operations personnel who go out to sea with the ship. In addition to the hangar that can accommodate two NH-90 helicopters at the stern, there is also reserved space on the deck for installing containerized combat modules, providing conditions for intelligent unmanned combat equipment to be mounted on the ship. Focusing on air defense and anti missile operations, which have a large tonnage, weak combat power, and obvious shortcomings in air defense capabilities, is a true portrayal of the current active main escort ships of the German Navy. Recently, the German Navy's F-125 frigate "Baden-W ü rttemberg", which had just completed its deployment mission in the Indian Ocean Pacific, had to abandon the Red Sea route and detour around Cape of Good Hope to avoid being attacked by Houthi armed drones and missiles on its return journey due to the inability to provide effective air defense protection for itself and accompanying ships. To compensate for the air defense shortcomings of previous types of frigates, the design of the F-127 frigate focuses on air defense and anti missile operations, with a significantly increased number and performance of onboard weapons compared to the F-125/126 frigates. In addition to being equipped with one 127mm naval gun at the bow and two sets of four unit anti-ship missile launchers at the midship, the F-127 frigate also has two sets of 32 unit Mk-41 vertical launch systems on board. The Mk-41 vertical launch system can not only launch air defense missiles such as the "Standard-2", "Standard-6", and "Sea Sparrow", but will also be equipped with the "Standard-3" series of air defense missiles, providing the ship with strong formation air defense and regional air defense combat capabilities, and even capable of defending and intercepting ballistic missiles outside the atmosphere. In addition, the F-127 frigate will be equipped with two sets of 21 unit "Hailam" short-range air defense systems, two sets of directed energy laser weapon systems, and four 12.7mm remote-controlled short-range weapon systems. These weapon systems are mainly used in conjunction to strike aerial targets such as drones. Emphasizing the application of mature technology, the F-127 frigate adopts the design of Germany's mature multi-purpose standard frigate, and is built using standardized functional modules, which can greatly save design and construction costs. At the same time, this approach will also give this type of ship greater flexibility in the selection of onboard weapons, not only maximizing the use of mature equipment within the NATO system, but also laying the foundation for ship maintenance and equipment upgrades. At present, the German Defense Force has clearly stated that it will build an air defense combat system for the F-127 frigate centered on the US Aegis system, comprehensively enhancing the ship's ability to detect, track, analyze threats, and intercept and destroy airborne targets. According to publicly available design models, the F-127 frigate will use either Raytheon's AN/SPY-6 or Lockheed Martin's AN/SPY-7 radar, both of which are equipped with four large active digital phased array radar arrays. Two of these arrays will be deployed in the front and two in the rear of the superstructure, providing a 360 degree air detection capability. There is also a small rotating X-band active digital phased array radar on board, which is used to supplement operations. For the combat management system, the Canadian CMS-330 combat management system currently equipped on German ships has high technological maturity, low risk, and high integration with radar and electronic warfare systems on German ships. It is expected to become the preferred combat management system for F-127 frigates. The German F-127 frigate project, as a top priority for the optimization and upgrading of the German Navy's maritime power structure, will greatly drive the development of the German shipbuilding industry through its research and construction process. 90% of the orders in the project will be completed by local German companies, further enhancing Germany's shipbuilding capabilities and strengthening its international competitiveness in surface vessel manufacturing. After the F-127 frigate enters service, it can not only meet Germany's deployment needs in response to rapid changes in geopolitical situations, but also have the capability foundation for deep cooperation and joint operations with NATO navies. (New Society)