Damen provided a sneak preview of its new second-generation offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) last month in Singapore during the annual OPVs and Corvettes Asia Pacific conference. This second-generation family is designed to be more versatile and efficient, able to take on a variety of missions.
This new generation of Damen OPVs employs the Sea Axe hull shape, which gives them superior seakeeping as well as reducing water resistance, making them more fuel efficient and delivering speeds of 25 to 26 knots, according to a company press release.
The company has designed the bridge, helicopter hangar, and a payload bay as multi-mission locations to add versatility to the design. The Multi-Mission Bay (MM Bay) can be equipped with dedicated mission modules for a variety of missions such as counter-piracy, counter-drug, mine warfare, and search and rescue. The bay also is equipped with a nine-meter rigid-hull inflatable boat (RHIB) that can be launched and recovered via an integral slipway in the vessel’s stern while underway, according to the release.
Artist’s conception of Damen’s second-generation multi-mission OPV design, showing the stern slipway, and large flight deck and hangar. Damen image
Damen’s Multi-Mission Bridge (MM Bridge) locates the command-and-control center (C2 Center) directly behind the navigation bridge, separated by a blinded sliding wall. The wall can be lowered during a mission so that C2 Center personnel will be able to observe the situation on the navigation bridge and outside the vessels’ windows, according to the release.
“Today OPVs don’t engage in combat situations as often as frigates do, however, fast and effective coordination during a ‘chase’ is essential for an OPV,” said Damen’s Design & Proposal Manager Piet van Rooij.
The Multi-Mission Hangar (MM Hangar) can accommodate a helicopter up to the size of the NH-90 as well as an unmanned aerial vehicle such as the Boeing ScanEagle®. The hangar has been designed so that the crew can deploy either aircraft without having to move either one, and there is a workshop as well as space for spare parts for the helicopter and UAV.
Four standard versions of the second-generation OPVs are planned, in 75-meter, 85-meter, 95-meter, and 103-meter lengths.