Portugal Defence news – The Portuguese Navy is investing 300 million euros in new patrol vessels. The contract was awarded to Portuguese company Martifer Group through the West Sea shipyards, and the patrol vessels will be delivered between 2027 – 2030.
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The Portuguese company West Sea - Viana Shipyard will build six ocean patrol vessels for the Portuguese Navy. Portugal is investing in the development of its navy capabilities and the six new vessels will provide Portugal with a total of 10 patrol vessels. They will replace the existing corvettes and contribute to the modernization and provide capacity building for interventions in Portugal’s maritime area. It is to be noted that Portugal also plans two buy two new submarines.
Portugal’s new patrol vessels are modular and are capable of effectively performing anti-submarine functions, transporting personnel, to be an operating base for all types of drones, and will also be auxiliary vessels to combat maritime pollution.
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Portugal’s patrol vessels are the Viana do Castelo-class OPV that have a length of 83.10 meters, a displacement of 1,600 tons and can accommodate 67 people. Unofficial sources state that the 6 ocean patrol vessels of the NPO3S program will be armed with a 30mm artillery piece, two 12.7mm automatic stations, 12.7mm machine guns, a mine-launching and countermeasure device, and an MK32 torpedo launcher.
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Portugal’s patrol vessels “play a vital role in fulfilling the country's international commitments, particularly in the areas of maritime search and rescue and cooperative security within the NATO alliance," according idD Portugal Defence that is a public body that manages the shares held by the Portuguese State in companies operating in the Defence sector.