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The Oliver Hazard Perry Class (FFG-7) frigate program reached a milestone recently with the deliv- ery of the USS De Wert (FFG-45) at Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine. She is the 36th ship of the cur- rently approved program of 54 FFGs. Of this total, 50 are for the U.S. Navy and four are for the Royal Australian Navy. The Guided Missile Frigate Ship Acquisition Program of the Naval Sea Systems Command is proud of its achievements with the FFG Class, and this most recent deliv- ery is one of the reasons why. The DeWert's delivery is a new high in early deliveries for the FFG-7 Class. To this point, Bath Iron Works has delivered follow-on ships an average 13 weeks in advance of the original contract delivery dates. The De Wert was delivered 25 weeks ahead of the original con- tract date. The FFG program was initiated in 1971 to provide a new class of ocean escorts to replace World War II destroyers as they were re- tired from the active fleet. The large number of ships being re- tired created the need for a large number of ships (50) to meet the projected requirements of the 1980s. As a result, the FFG-7 Class is the largest class of surface combatant ships to be acquired since WW II. FFGs are designed to provide protection for military and mer- chant ship convoys. To do this, they are capable of detecting and attacking submarines; destroying anti-ship missiles launched from enemy submarines, aircraft, or surface ships; and destroying hos- tile surface ships. To accomplish her mission and at the same time to remain cost-ef- fective, FFGs were constructed us-
