The construction of the warship began on the 1st of March 1978 at the 2 Mai military shipyard from Mangalia. In 1984, she began sea trials. The warship was initially classified as a light cruiser by the Communist government and was named Muntenia, after the historical province of Romania. Nicolae Ceaușescu christened the ship himself on the 2nd of August 1986. The cruiser was entirely a Romanian project, with the exception of the armament which was licensed built or of Soviet origin. The warship had an excessive topweight that caused stability problems even in calm waters. As a result, in June 1988 Muntenia returned to the shipyard where she underwent a major reconstruction program that lasted until August 1992.
On the 2nd of May 1990, Muntenia was renamed Timișoara in honor of the city where the Romanian Revolution of 1989 first started. The warship was also reclassified as a destroyer. However, on the 27th of August 1990, the destroyer was renamed Marasesti, after the Battle of Mărășești in World War I. On the 1st of April 2001, Marasesti was classified as a frigate by the Romanian General Staff.
| F-111 Marasesti class frigate | |
|---|---|
| Class and type: | Frigate |
| Displacement: | 5,790 tons |
| Length: | 144.6 m |
| Beam: | 14.8 m |
| Draught: | 4.9 m |
| Propulsion: | 4 X 8440hp - diesel engines |
| Speed: | 18 knots (33 km/h) cruise 27 knots (52 km/h) sprint |
| Range: | 1,500nm |
| Complement: | 270 |
| Armament: | 8 x P-20M (SS-N-2) anti-ship missiles (4 x twin launchers) 2 x RBU-6000 213 mm anti-submarine rocket launchers 4 x AK-726 76 mm guns (2 x twin turrets) 4 x AK-630 six-barreled 30 mm Gatling guns 2 x triple 533 mm torpedo tubes mines |
| Aircraft carried: | 1 X IAR 330 Puma Naval |
