Spanish Navy frigate Méndez Núñez (F-104) in April joined Operation Highmast, a British-led multi-national deployment in the Indo-Pacific.

Méndez Núñez joined HMS Prince of Wales (R09) and its carrier strike group for four months of the eight-month mission to demonstrate collective resolve to maintain security and freedom from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

The mission will include a series of exercises and operations with air, sea and land forces of a dozen allies in the Mediterranean, Middle East, South-east Asia, Japan and Australia, according to the British Royal Navy.

Méndez Núñez departed from Ferrol Naval Arsenal in Galicia, attended the initial command conference aboard the British flagship, and has been participating in interoperability exercises with allied naval units.​

Commissioned in 2006, the Álvaro de Bazán-class frigate is named after 19th-century Rear Adm. Casto Méndez Núñez. It is a multi-capable ship with anti-aircraft and surface strike capabilities.

Méndez Núñez has a history of participating in multinational operations, previously serving with USS John C. Stennis and on cooperative, around the-world deployment with USS Abraham Lincoln and its carrier strike group.

Anti-ship and anti-submarine capabilities

The frigate is equipped with a US-made eight-cell Mk 41 Vertical Launching System (VLS), which enables the rapid deployment of various missile types to effectively engage air, surface and subsurface targets.

Méndez Núñez includes up to 32 RIM-66 Standard SM-2MR Block IIIA missiles, capable of reaching speeds of Mach 3.5 and ranges up to 170km, providing robust area air defense.

It can carry up to 64 RIM-162 Evolved SeaSparrow Missiles (ESSM), designed to counter supersonic maneuvering anti-ship missiles.

For surface warfare, Méndez Núñez is armed with eight RGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missiles, offering long-range strike capabilities against enemy vessels.

Its anti-submarine warfare suite includes two Mk 32 Mod 9 triple torpedo launchers equipped with Mk 46 Mod 5 torpedoes, with Mk 141 quad missile launchers and multiple machine guns.

The frigate also operates a Sikorsky SH-60B LAMPS III Seahawk helicopter, enhancing its submarine detection and engagement range.

The multi-mission Seahawk provides the United States and allied navies with a vital edge in international waters. Its folding main rotor blades and hinged tail to allow it to fit aboard ships more easily.

The frigate's advanced combat system, featuring Lockheed Martin's AN/SPY-1D radar, allows integration with allied naval forces, enhancing situational awareness and coordinated responses to potential threats.