Espora [Meko 140]
After the Flaklands War the Argentine navy aquired a powerful squadron of modern German-designed frigates to replace its elderly US warships. The UK was fortunate that the Argentines attacked the Falklands before the Government's plans for a drastic cut in the Royal Navy took place and before the Argentine fleet completed its modernization.
In 1980 Argentina signed a contract with the German firm Blohm und Voss for three light frigates. The first was launched in 1982 and commissioned in 1985, five more units followed, with the last delivered in 2002. The 'Meko' class were a major improvement over the elderly ex-US destroyers operated by the Argentine fleet in 1982. One Meko class frigate was deployed to the Gulf in 1991
