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FFG-7 class ships were produced in 445-foot "short-hull" and 455-foot "long-hull" variants. The long-hull ships (FFG 8, 28, 29, 32, 33, 36-61) carry the SH-60 Seahawk LAMPS III helicopters, while the short-hull units carry the less-capable SH-2 Seasprite. FFG 8, 29, 32, and 33 were built as short-hull ships but later modified into long-hull ships.
U.S. yards constructed FFG-7 class ships for the United States and Australia. Early U.S.-built Australian ships were originally of the short-hull type and modified in the 1980s to the long-hull standard. Yards in Australia, Spain, and Taiwan have produced variants of the long-hull design for their navies; production continues in Taiwan.
Although costs escalated dramatically over the production run, all 50 ships planned for the USN were eventually built. Although some Perry-class vessels are slated to remain in U.S. service for years, many others are being decommissioned and transferred to other navies, where they are often replacing modernized World War II destroyers again - the same ex-US destroyers transferred abroad in the 1970s and 1980s. Some surplus USN units have been transferred to the navies of Bahrain, Egypt, Poland, and Turkey, and more will probably follow.
Perry-class frigates made the news twice during the 1980s. The Persian Gulf was a dangerous place to be during the Iran-Iraq War, and on 17 May 19871987 is a common year starting on Thursday. Events January January 1 Nunavut's capital changes it name to Iqaluit from Frobisher Bay. January 3 Aretha Franklin becomes the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. January 4 An Amtrak train, USS Stark (FFG-31)USS Stark (FFG-31 twenty-third ship of the Oliver Hazard Perry class of guided-missile frigates, was named for Admiral Harold Rainsford Stark (1880 1972). Ordered from Todd Shipyards, San Pedro, California on 23 January 1978 as part of the FY78 program, S was attacked, apparently accidentally, by an Iraqi warplane. Thirty-seven American sailors died in the deadly prelude to the U.S.'s Operation Earnest WillOperation Earnest Will was the protection of Kuwaiti oil tankers by the U. Navy from Iranian attacks in 1987 and 1988 during the Iran-Iraq War. To provide a legal justification for using American naval forces to protect the civilian vessels, the Kuwaiti s, the reflagging and escorting of oil tankers through the Persian Gulf. Less than a year later, on 14 April 19881988 is a leap year starting on Friday (click on link for calendar). Events January January 2 Georgia celebrates its bicentennial statehood. January 9 Connecticut celebrates its bicentennial statehood. January 26 Australia celebrates its bicentennial day., the frigate USS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG-58)USS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG-58 was one of the final vessels in the United States Navy's Oliver Hazard Perry class of guided missile frigates. She was named for Samuel B. Roberts, a Navy coxswain who was killed evacuating Marines during the battle of Guadal was nearly sunk by an Iranian mine. No lives were lost, but 10 sailors were medevaced from the ship. The U.S. retaliated four days later with Operation Praying MantisOperation Praying Mantis was the one-day action waged by U. naval forces in retaliation for the Iranian mining of an American warship. During the Iran-Iraq War in 1987 and 1988, U. warships escorted reflagged Kuwaiti oil tankers through the Persian Gulf t, a one-day attack on Iranian oil platforms being used as bases for raids on merchant shipping, which included the minelaying operations that damaged the Roberts. Both frigates were repaired in U.S. yards and returned to service.