COTECMAR and Damen team up for Colombian frigate replacement programme
Conceptual image of one of the new frigates for the Colombian Navy. (Image: Damen)
The PES programme to replace 1980s-vintage frigates in Colombia is making progress, but will the South American country learn lessons from the Mexican failure with POLA?
The Plataformas Estrategicas de Superficie (PES) programme for the Colombian Navy is finally setting sail after six years, after Colombian shipbuilding corporation COTECMAR and Damen signed a contract on 27 September to jointly develop the design for new frigates.
A Damen spokesperson told Shephard: ‘According to the Colombian Navy long-term replacement programme, they aim to replace the existing frigate fleet with five new ones.’
The Colombian Navy requires replacements for its fleet of four Almirante Padilla-class frigates built in the early 1980s. A key objective of PES was to find a partner for COTECMAR to increase the Colombian
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