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With the eventual collapse of the NFR90 project to build a common NATO frigate, the Italians, French and British decided to build on what had been achieved and commence the Common New Generation Frigate (CNGF) - Horizon - programme, followed by Germany, the Netherlands and Spain with their own future frigate programme. The aim of the Horizon Project was to salvage as much as possible from the NFR90 project, and to ensure that the frigate is as 'common' as possible, for economic reasons. The fewer variations there are in the different national specifications, the more money can be saved on development and production. It was envisaged that an International Joint Venture Company (IJVC) would be set up, which would manage the multi-billion dollar scheme. It was intended that after the setting up of the IJVC, it would formally bid for the contract to design the frigates and build the initial three, one for each navy. The project officially started in December 1992 with the signing of the tri-national Staff Requirement and was to be carried out on a twin-track system, one track being the platform component (that is, the ship and its associated systems except for the main weapon system) and the other being the Primary Anti-Air Missile System (PAAMS). Recurring delays on both components eventually meant that the UK finally withdrew from the programme in April 1999 to pursue a national procurement strategy with the Type 45 destroyer, bringing an end to the Horizon programme. The complexities of European defence collaboration did indeed make themselves felt with concerns in the UK over the time it was taking to achieve consensus over the systems to be included (the Type 42 destroyers for which Horizon was earmarked as a replacement were increasingly becoming more expensive to operate and maintain), the share of the work that would be granted to UK industry, the high price of the warship and the unfocused management of the project. The failure comes in part over the different roles the warship was supposed to take with the three partners, the Royal Navy wanting an area-defence ship, while the French and Italians were looking for a point-defence vessel. There were also differences between the partners on the minimum acceptable capability that the warship would have, and the Joint Project Office had very little authority, requiring consent from the three Governments in order to take decisions of any real importance.
LONGER ARTICLE Horizon: The Common New Generation Frigate