Damen, Metal Shark partner for NCPVs
Damen Shipyards has entered into a partnership with Metal Shark to construct up to 13 Damen SPa 2606 patrol boats, Damen announced on 12 July.
Metal Shark was recently selected by the US Navy to build Near Coastal Patrol Vessels (NCPVs) for US partner nations under the US foreign military sales (FMS) programme.
Under the terms of the FMS, Metal Shark is building up to 13,85ft Defiant class welded aluminium cutters for the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica, Guatemala and other US partner nations. The company will also supply electro-optical infrared sensors, diagnostic equipment, in-country reactivation, crew familiarisation and test support.
Based on Damen’s Stan Patrol 2606 FMS design, the new vessels will be tailored by Metal Shark to suit the requirements of the NCPV mission. The cutter is designed to carry out an extensive range of missions including search and rescue, border patrol, police and customs duties, counter-narcotics operations and securing waters of economic importance.
Key attributes of Damen’s Stan Patrol 2606 include excellent performance, large payload capacity, economical operating cost and proven durability. Metal Shark has applied its own enhancements to Damen’s patrol platform to provide the crew-friendly functionality found on other Metal Shark patrol craft.
More from Naval Warfare
-
Kongsberg awarded $960 million missile contract
The contract could rise to as much as US$1.1 billion and follows an announcement last month that Kongsberg was building a missile production facility in the US to meet burgeoning global demand.
-
New US Navy batteries are deemed submarine-safe
The use of Passive Propagation Technology significantly reduces the risk of Lithium-ion batteries for use in torpedo tube launched AUVs.
-
BAE Systems’ Herne XLAUV set to hunt for underwater intelligence
The Herne is modular, highly configurable underwater autonomous platform, with potential for both ISR missions in the short term and self-determined assistance surveillance later.