The second of two MMPVs was launched ahead of schedule. According to the contract, it was supposed to take place in April 2025. The two MMPVs are being built under a contract signed November 12, 2020 between the Bulgarian Ministry of Defence and the German shipbuilding group Fr. Lürssen Werft (now NVL – Naval Vessels Lürssen). The vessels will cost about BGN 984 million gross (about EUR 503 million).
Final outfitting and preparations for factory acceptance trials of the first-in-class ship Hrabri (Brave) are currently underway, scheduled for January-April 2025. The ship should be handed over to the Bulgarian Navy by the end of 2025.
Separate contracts have already been concluded for Saab Diehl Defence RBS15 Mk3 anti-ship missiles, MBDA VL MICA SAM system and 324mm torpedoes (Leonardo A244/S?). Negotiations are underway with the U.S. government for the supply of cryptographic equipment for communications systems under the Foreign Military Sales program.
The MMPVs are built in compliance with international warship standards. Certification is provided by DNV GL, which will give the vessels the class “frigate” upon completion.
Bulgaria’s first new surface combatants
The Bulgarians made their first attempts to purchase new surface ships in the early 2000s. At that time, they concluded a preliminary agreement with France’s DCN (now Naval Group) and were to become the first users of Gowind-class corvettes. For this reason, DCN even showcased a model of such a vessel with a Bulgarian flag at Euronaval 2006. However, the deal did not materialize.
Another attempt to purchase surface ships came a decade later. A parliamentary decision in June 2016 approved a project to purchase two multi-role patrol vessels with an estimated maximum value of BGN 820 million (about €473 million). The Ministry of Defense sent invitations to eight shipyards to participate in the tender. In June 2017, seven companies submitted bids: DCNS, Lürssen, BAE Systems, Fincantieri, Navantia, thyssenkrupp Marine Systems and MTG Dolphin. In the tender, the Bulgarian shipyard offered the K-90 corvette, a model of which it showed at Euronaval 2016. MTG Dolphin’s bid was the winner. However, while preparing to conclude the contract, the shipyard withdrew from the negotiations in December 2017, due to the new VAT rate, which was not included in the 2016 budget.
Only the next version of the tender already had an estimated value of BGN 984 million. In December 2019, new bids were submitted by Lürssen and Fincantieri. The German bid met the contracting authority’s requirements and price criteria, while the Italian bid fell short of the project’s financial targets.
The Lürssen OPV 90 patrol vessel, a development of the four Darussalam-class OPVs built between 2011 and 2014 for Brunei, was selected as the MMPV platform. Production of 12 Arafura-class OPVs for the Royal Australian Navy, a further development of this project, is also underway.
The Bulgarian MMPV has a displacement of about 2,300 tons, dimensions of 90×13.5 meters and a speed of about 20 knots. Range will be 3,000 Mm at 14 knots, while autonomy will be seven days. Crews are expected to be about 70 people, including flight staff. The Saab 9LV integrated combat management system has been selected for the MMPV. In addition to the aforementioned missiles, the ships are armed with: Leonardo OTO Super Rapid 76mm gun, Rheinmetall Millennium 35mm CIWS and two torpedo launchers. The Sea Giraffe AMB multifunction radar, the CEROS 200 fire control system, the EOS 500 electro-optical fire control director and the SME series ESM – all made by Saab – will be the principle sensors. In addition, the MMPVs each have two Rheinmetall Waffe Munition MASS decoy launchers and a hull mounted sonar. They also received a hangar for a Eurocopter AS565MB Panther helicopter.
