Naval Group has announced that the last of the four Offshore Patrol Vessel 87 (OPV 87) ordered by the Argentinean Navy, ARA. CONTRAALMIRANTE CORDERO, was launched on 21 September in Concarneau. This forms part of the contract signed in 2018 to provide four multi-mission OPVs. ARA BOUCHARD (ex-L’ADROIT) had been delivered in December 2019 and ARA PIEDRABUENA on 13 April 2021. ARA STORNI was launched on 10 May 2021 and will be delivered next October, in accordance with the original contractual schedule.
The last vessel of the series will offer the same assets and characteristics as the ARA PIEDRABUENA and STORNI. It benefits from an optimised motorised system, an active stabilisation system and a bow thruster. It is also “ice proven”, meaning it is adapted to navigation in the cold waters of Antarctica.
According to Naval Group, the Argentinean OPVs feature technologies sea proven by the French Navy, which has operated L’ADROIT for six years for multiple maritime security operations, including:
- high endurance
- good sea-worthiness
- an innovative design
- 360° visibility from the bridge
- a unique mast for a panoramic radar coverage
- discrete and safe deployment in less than five minutes of fast craft for special forces
ARA. CONTRAALMIRANTE CORDERO is equipped with the POLARIS command and weapon control system and NiDL tactical data link system.
Argentine OPV Technical features
Naval Group asserts that the OPV is able to accommodate a helicopter and a reduced crew of 40 members in addition to around twenty extra passengers.
- Length: 87 metres
- Beam: 14 metres
- Displacement: 1,650 tonnes
- speed: over 20 knots
- Accommodation: 59 (crew and passengers)
- Endurance: > 7,000 nautical miles
- Boarding capacity: two light crafts of 9 meters and one 10-ton class helicopter
JH
