Vera Navis Press Release
The new Coastal Patrol Vessels are a one-of-a-kind design, challenging the multiple threats that our borders face, that will change the landscape on the capacity of patrolling our waters, and has signed a contract with Vera Navis | Ship Design (VNSD) for the basic and detailed design development of this new series of ships.
The Portuguese Navy and VNSD are engaged in the joint development of this solution, working side-by-side to develop such an innovative special ship. VNSD is responsible for the consolidation of concept design, basic and detailed design package, namely naval architecture, marine engineering, procurement, and production engineering.
The Portuguese Navy, meanwhile, is responsible for the design related with sensors, weapons, communications, command & control, and its integration into VNSD design development.
The design team also includes the participation of MAURIC, part of Exail, and Stadt Towing Tank As, strengthening the design solution.
Although most of the ship details will not be disclosed to the public, here follows an image on the exterior of the ship.
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About the New Coastal Patrol Vessels:
Admiral Henrique Gouveia e Melo, Chief of the Portuguese Naval Staff, told Naval New’s Xavier Vavasseur during DIMDEX 2024 that the new patrol boats will be key part of Portugal’s future streamlined surface fleet. The new fleet, he said, will consist of only three platforms including a Multipurpose Support Vessel (MPSS), submarines and small patrol boats.
These patrol boats, he said, will displace between 500 and 1000 tonnes and replace a series of vessels in Portuguese service. While neither the Portuguese Navy or VNSD have released many details about the ships specifications, at a cursory glance, they appear to be designed to accommodate a variety of uncrewed systems.
In the concept images released by VNSD, the vessel has a small hangar which appears to be too small to fit a helicopter, meaning that it is likely optimised to fit Uncrewed Aerial Systems (UAS). The hanger, which is behind the bridge, opens onto a large almost through-deck, flight deck. Large doors at the port and starboard, as well as stern, suggest the presence of a multi-mission area underneath the flight deck fitted out to support uncrewed surface and subsurface vessels. The vessel appears to be armed with three small cannons or machine guns, mounted forward and on both sides of the stern.
For more information about the Portuguese Navy’s ambitious modernization plans, check out this interview with Admiral Gouveia e Melo at DIMDEX 2024:
