 NRPViana do Castelo | |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Builders | Estaleiros Navais de Viana do Castelo (ENVC) andWest Sea Shipyard |
| Operators |  Portuguese Navy |
| Preceded by | João Coutinho-class corvette |
| Subclasses | NPO - ocean patrol vessel NCP - anti-pollution vessel |
| In commission | 2010–present |
| Planned | 10 |
| Completed | 4 |
| Active | 4 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Offshore patrol vessel |
| Displacement | 1,850 tons |
| Length | 83.10 m (272 ft 8 in) |
| Beam | 12.95 m (42 ft 6 in) |
| Draught | 3.82 m (12 ft 6 in) |
| Propulsion | 2 x Wärtsilä diesel engines (3,900 kW (5,200 hp) each), 2 electric engines (200 kW (270 hp) each) |
| Speed | 21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph) maximum |
| Boats & landing craft carried | 2 x Rigid Inflatable Boats |
| Complement | 35 accommodation for 32 more |
| Sensors & processing systems | Leonardo Medusa MK4/B electro-optical fire control system, Electro-optical SAGEM / VIGY, 2x KH Manta2000 navigation radar, iXblue Quadrans inertial navigation system, Furuno Electric's FAR-3230 F-band, FAR-3220 I-band navigation radars |
| Armament |
|
| Aviation facilities | Medium-sized helicopter pad but no hangar supportingSuper Lynx Mk.95 |
| Notes |
|
TheViana do Castelo class is aclass ofoffshore patrol vessels planned by and for thePortuguese Navy, as a result of theNPO2000 Project (Portuguese,Navios de Patrulha Oceânica, for Oceanic Patrol Vessels), that are being constructed in theWest Sea Shipyard.
The eight to ten vessels of this class, specially designed to operate in the waters of theNorth Atlantic Ocean, will replace theJoão Coutinho andBaptista de Andrade-class corvettes — currently being decommissioned —, and the small patrol boats of theCacine class in their primary fisheries protection role (SIFICAP) and in theirsearch and rescue (SAR) roles. Two of these vessels of the versionNavios de Combate à Poluição (NCP) will be fitted with anti-pollution systems — includingFast Oil Recovery systems. These vessels are named after Portuguese coastal cities.
The first vessel, NRPViana do Castelo, was commissioned in March 2010 after several years of delay. Six additional vessels are planned by the Portuguese Navy as announced in 2016 to be built in 2017 and 2018. On 22 June 2018 the Portuguese prime minister announced an additional order of sixViana do Castelo-class ships to be built at same shipyard over the next six years along with a multi purpose ship for a total of 500 million euros. The order for six more vessels was finalized on 25 May 2021.
Viana do Castelo was temporarily commissioned with an old 40 mm gun, but the Portuguese Navy is acquiring two 30 mm Oto Melara Marlin guns for the first two vessels.[1][2][3]
Armament consists of a 30 mmOto Melara Marlin, it replaces one 40 mm L/60 turreted gun in NRPViana do Castelo, and four mounts to be armed with two 7.62 mmlight machine guns and two 12.7 mmM2 Browning as well as two launching systems for MK55 Mod 2mines.[4] The ships are designed to operate automated systems and are equipped with a singleSagem SA Vigy 10 MKIII naval surveillance and observation platform, threewater cannons, and two rigid inflatable boats.[4] Each ship is capable of accommodating aSuper Lynx MK95 light helicopter.[5]
The third series of theViana do Castelo class will be armed with one 30 mm Oto Melara Marlin, oneMark 32 torpedo tube, one launching system for MK55 Mod 2 mines,countermeasure launcher, twoProtector RWS and various 12.7 mm M2 Brownings.[6]
The Portuguese Navy is gradually upgrading itsViana do Castelo-class ships during their maintenance cycles. This modernization is designed to eliminate logistical, functional and operational obsolescence; add capabilities needed for future operations; and enable the integration of modular systems for mission support, self-protection, surveillance and anti-submarine warfare (ASW). TheViana do Castelo class is also being progressively upgraded to enable vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) operations to provide intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities[7]
| Pennant | Name | Version | Laid down | Shipyard | Launched | Commissioned | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Series 1 | |||||||
| P360 | Viana do Castelo | NPO | 2004 | ENVC | 1 October 2005 | March 2011 | In service |
| P361 | Figueira da Foz | NPO | 2004 | ENVC | 1 October 2005 | June 2013 | In service; tasked to theAzores andMadeira[8] |
| Series 2 | |||||||
| P362 | Sines | NPO | 2015 | West Sea | 3 May 2017[9] | July 2018 | In service |
| P363 | Setúbal | NPO | 2015 | West Sea | 13 September 2017[9] | February 2019[10] | In service |
| Series 3[11] | |||||||
| P364 | Porto | NPO | ? | West Sea | Under construction | 2027[12] | Approved |
| P365 | Funchal | NPO | ? | West Sea | Ordered | 2028[12] | Approved |
| P366 | Aveiro | NPO | ? | West Sea | Ordered | 2029[12] | Approved |
| P367 | Faro | NPO | ? | West Sea | Ordered | 2029[12] | Approved |
| P368 | Ponta Delgada | NPO | ? | West Sea | Ordered | 2030[12] | Approved |
| P369 | ? | NPO | ? | West Sea | Ordered | 2030[12] | Approved |
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) Portuguese naval ships post-1945 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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