The ''Viana do Castelo class'' is a

class Class, Classes, or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used d ...

offshore patrol vessel A patrol boat (also referred to as a patrol craft, patrol ship, or patrol vessel) is a relatively small naval vessel generally designed for coastal defence, border security, or law enforcement. There are many designs for patrol boats, and th ...

s planned by and for the

Portuguese Navy The Portuguese Navy (), also known as the Portuguese War Navy (''Marinha de Guerra Portuguesa'') or as the Portuguese Armada (''Armada Portuguesa''), is the navy of the Portuguese Armed Forces. Chartered in 1317 by King Dinis of Portugal, it is ...

, as a result of the NPO2000 Project (

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

, ''Navios de Patrulha Oceânica'', for Oceanic Patrol Vessels), that are being constructed in the West Sea Shipyard.

Design

The eight to ten vessels of this class, specially designed to operate in the waters of the

North Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

, will replace the and corvettes — currently being decommissioned —, and the small patrol boats of the in their primary fisheries protection role (SIFICAP) and in their

search and rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...

(SAR) roles. Two of these vessels of the version ''Navios de Combate à Poluição'' (NCP) will be fitted with anti-

pollution Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause harm. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the component ...

systems — including

Fast Oil Recovery Fast oil recovery (FOR) is a technology in the maritime industry designed to facilitate efficient and safe removal of oil spills in emergency situations. It can be integrated into new or existing vessels to enhance spill response capabilities. ...

systems. These vessels are named after Portuguese coastal cities. The first vessel, NRP ''Viana do Castelo'' (P360), 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. June 22, 2018 the Portuguese Prime Minister announced an additional order of 6 Viana do Castelo Class ships( 60 million euros each) to be built at same shipyard over next 6 years along with a multi purpose ship for a total of 500 million euros. the order for 6 more NPO-2000 was finalized may 25 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.

Armament

Armament consists of a 30 mm

Oto Melara OTO Melara was a subsidiary of the Italian company Finmeccanica, today Leonardo, active in the defence sector, with factories in Brescia and La Spezia. From 1 January 2016, the activities of OTO Melara merged into Leonardo's Defence Systems ...

Marlin, it replaces one 40 mm L/60 turreted gun in the NRP Viana do Castelo, and four mounts to be armed with 2 x 7.62 mm

light machine gun A light machine gun (LMG) is a light-weight machine gun designed to be operated by a single infantryman, with or without an assistant, as an infantry support weapon. LMGs firing cartridge (firearms), cartridges of the same caliber as the othe ...

s and two

12.7mm This is a list of firearm cartridge (weaponry), cartridges which have bullets in the to range. *''Length'' refers to the cartridge casing (ammunition), case length. *''OAL'' refers to the overall length of the cartridge. *''Bullet'' refers to ...

M2 Browning The M2 machine gun or Browning .50-caliber machine gun (informally, "Ma Deuce") is a heavy machine gun that was designed near the end of World War I by John Browning. While similar to Browning's M1919 Browning machine gun, which was chambered ...

as well as two launching systems for MK55 Mod 2

mines Mine, mines, miners or mining may refer to: Extraction or digging *Miner, a person engaged in mining or digging *Mining, extraction of mineral resources from the ground through a mine Grammar *Mine, a first-person English possessive pronoun Mi ...

. The ships are designed to operate automated systems and are equipped with a single

Sagem SAGEM (, translated as "Company of General Applications of Electricity and Mechanics") was a French company involved in defense electronics, consumer electronics, and communication systems. Founded in 1924, SAGEM initially specialised in mechani ...

SA Vigy 10 MKIII naval surveillance and observation platform, three

water cannon A water cannon is a device that shoots a high-velocity stream of water. Typically, a water cannon can deliver a large volume of water, often over dozens of meters. They are used in firefighting, large vehicle washing, riot control, and mining. ...

s, and two rigid inflatable boats. Each ship is capable of accommodating a

Super Lynx The Westland Lynx is a British multi-purpose twin-engined military helicopter designed and built by Westland Helicopters at its factory in Yeovil. Originally intended as a utility craft for both civil and naval usage, military interest led to ...

MK95 light helicopter. The third serie of the Viana do Castelo-class will be armed with one 30 mm

Marlin, one Mark 32 Torpedo Tube, one launching system for MK55 Mod 2

countermeasure A countermeasure is a measure or action taken to counter or offset another one. As a general concept, it implies precision and is any technological or tactical solution or system designed to prevent an undesirable outcome in the process. The fi ...

launcher, 2 x

Protector RWS The Protector RWS is a remote controlled weapon station, remotely controlled weapons station (RWS) that can be mounted to vehicles and stationary platforms. It has been in full scale production since December 2001. It is manufactured by Kongsberg ...

and various

Modernization

The Portuguese Navy is gradually upgrading its Viana do Castelo-class offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) 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). Also Viana do Castelo-class is being progressively upgraded to enable vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) operations to provide intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities

Ships

References

External links

* , ''Área Militar'' (in Portuguese)
Navio de Patrulha Oceânica (NPO 2000)
, ENVC (in Portuguese).

{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070820163035/http://www.envc.pt/marinha/ncp2000/ncp2000.htm , date=2007-08-20 , ENVC (in Portuguese).
Viana do Castelo commissioned
Diário de Notícias newspaper (in Portuguese). *http://www.janes.com/article/51922/portugal-to-buy-two-more-opvs, Janes defence (in English). Patrol ship classes Patrol vessels of the Portuguese Navy Ships built in Portugal Military equipment of Portugal

Design

Armament

Modernization

Ships

See also

References

External links