3 New Navy Vessels for Irish Naval Service

aindriu80 · 04-03-2013 4:08pm

Tabnabs wrote: »

For about €60million we could get a brand new state of the art ship designed specifically for

Maritime Surveillance
Emergency Towing Operations
Fire Fighting
Environmental Response
Search and Rescue (SAR)
Helicopter In-Flight Refuelling (HIFR)
Fisheries Enforcement
Oil Recovery Operations (ORO)
Hydrographic Surveying
On-scene command and coordination platform

The INS have been carrying out RAS with the ILV Granuaile recently but this would open up a whole world of possibilities. A most suitable platform for their new ROV kit too. And a crew of just 18 needed.

With all due respect that is a fishery/coast guard vessel.

Tabnabs · 04-03-2013 4:19pm

aindriu80 wrote: »

With all due respect that is a fishery/coast guard vessel.

With the same due respect, that's an OPV.

aindriu80 · 04-03-2013 4:45pm

Tabnabs wrote: »

With the same due respect, that's an OPV.

Its still a coast guard vessel even if it comes under OPV classification.

I can appreciate if the scope of this thread is for vessels of the above nature, I for one would not want it on a shopping list. The new €50 million Irish ship looks like its better spec for the Navy.

Tabnabs · 04-03-2013 4:57pm

You're the very person talking about bringing new capabilities to the INS with new ships. How about something that can go to the North Pole (as you asked for) and do lots more besides.

http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/shipdetails.aspx?MMSI=259040000

€62m, radar and chopper not included.

aindriu80 · 04-03-2013 5:17pm

Tabnabs wrote: »

You're the very person talking about bringing new capabilities to the INS with new ships. How about something that can go to the North Pole (as you asked for) and do lots more besides.

€62m, radar and chopper not included.

Going to the north pole is a realistic proposition for the Irish Navy at some point. We may not have the ship(s) to do it at the moment but its something the country should do. There are some in the Navy that have spoken in favour and there would be lots of spin offs for the country.

The above ship may be a very good suit for such a journey & more but I wouldn't get it . I would post a picture of a ship I think the Irish Navy should get but it might stretch things here.

banie01 · 04-03-2013 5:32pm

Tabnabs wrote: »

You're the very person talking about bringing new capabilities to the INS with new ships. How about something that can go to the North Pole (as you asked for) and do lots more besides.

http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/shipdetails.aspx?MMSI=259040000

€62m, radar and chopper not included.

In fairness thats quite a capable vessel!
Even has a constant overpressure NBC system.
And the crewing requirement would fit nicely into current Irish naval manpower plans.
Swap the main gun for the Irish preferred 76mm and add a couple of 20mm.
Add in a TEU/Container capability and adding a crane perhaps by giving up part of the flight deck and hangerage.
Apparently it can take 2 helo's and that would free up a lot of usable space(Even all of it) while still allowing scope for later use as a helipad if we ever get back into naval helo's and even emergency use
It could be a very good fit for the navy's actual requirements, with the added benefit of Ice breaking capability too(Just in case we decide to head all the way north).

EDIT
But just to add:
I think the OPV90s on order fit our actual operational requirements and our future planned requirements quite well.
The above type vessel would fit nicely into the planned EPV slot, although so does the proposed Babcock EPV, albeit without the north pole capability necessary for some pointless flag waving exercises.

Capt'n Midnight · 04-03-2013 6:23pm

aindriu80 wrote: »

Illustrious will go to India or somewhere like it. As for the new U.K carriers, they should be going in the same direction:D. The U.K needs to start again on a proper cat & trap carrier

Going a bit off topic here but
The last UK through deck cruiser was scrapped in Turkey not sold.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/02/06/defence_committee_carrier_badness/page2.html

The estimated cost based on a STOVL [only] design was around £2 billion ... The estimated procurement cost of the future aircraft carriers using the innovative, adaptable design is around £3 billion.

The "innovative, adaptable" ships are now projected by the National Audit Office to cost £5.35 billion, so it's plain that around a third of that, some £1.8bn, comes from them being "adaptable" rather than STOVL-only. Except that it turns out they aren't adaptable at all - fitting them with catapults and arrester gear would, apparently, cost as much as buying two entire new ships.

To put that in perspective our defence budget for all services is about ~€1bn

The UK has bet a lot on the F35 working and being on time / on budget. Plan B is changing the carriers but that will only increase the gap when they have none. Not that they have any now aircraft now anyway, but if they had then HMS Ocean could fitted with a ramp no time.

Thing is if they can do without carrier aircraft for several years doesn't that mean the carriers are really just white elephants or that they are taking a huge risk ?

It's interesting to compare, the last time they had lined up the carriers for retirement they nearly lost the Falklands.

Also http://www.navytimes.com/news/2013/02/dn022213-f35-grounded-again-mil/

The Pentagon has suspended all test flights for the entire Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter fleet due to engine problems.

The move came nine days after the Pentagon cleared the F-35B jump-jet variant, designed for the U.S. Marines, to resume tests after a monthlong suspension. Both suspensions are due to problems with the engines. It also comes at a time when the program is facing increased scrutiny from lawmakers and senior DoD officials.

aindriu80 · 04-03-2013 7:00pm

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

.....To put that in perspective our defence budget for all services is about ~€1bn....

Thing is if they can do without carrier aircraft for several years doesn't that mean the carriers are really just white elephants or that they are taking a huge risk ?

I'm not sure if the Royal Navy is relevant here ?

Its hard to compare the two countries defence wise but one looks like they could be doing better and the other one looks like it could do more.

There is no real big risk for the U.K with the carriers unless you take into account invasion but they need to go back to the drawing board with the new carriers.

goldie fish · 04-03-2013 7:10pm

aindriu80 wrote: »

Going to the north pole is a realistic proposition for the Irish Navy at some point. We may not have the ship(s) to do it at the moment but its something the country should do. There are some in the Navy that have spoken in favour and there would be lots of spin offs for the country.

The above ship may be a very good suit for such a journey & more but I wouldn't get it . I would post a picture of a ship I think the Irish Navy should get but it might stretch things here.

Seriously, dude, what drugs are you on?
Going to the north pole? In a ship? Why would we be the first to do it? In all my conversations with officers in the NS(those who make the decisions) not one has ever mentioned the north pole, except when telling how their kids want to see santas grotto there.

You still have not provided any reasons why.
At all.

aindriu80 · 04-03-2013 8:02pm

goldie fish wrote: »

Seriously, dude, what drugs are you on?
Going to the north pole? In a ship? Why would we be the first to do it? In all my conversations with officers in the NS(those who make the decisions) not one has ever mentioned the north pole, except when telling how their kids want to see santas grotto there.

You still have not provided any reasons why.
At all.

Take it from me, you can drop the exploration side of things and concentrate on coastal vessels which I have no interest in.

Granted the idea of the north pole, ireland and navy in one sentence is truly laughable.

Well I was simply thinking aloud but I was reading about the the Indian Navy 'conquering' North Pole. I guess it could be done via plane but I was simply thinking that the navy could do it themselves and personally believe that the ships we have are limited for anything bar coastal patrolling

goldie fish · 04-03-2013 11:07pm

Jaysus Aindriu, I'm a hares breath away from putting you on ignore for the nonsense you are coming out with now. If you are going to make a statement at least have the balls to stand by it.

banie01 · 04-03-2013 11:47pm

goldie fish wrote: »

Jaysus Aindriu, I'm a hares breath away from putting you on ignore for the nonsense you are coming out with now. If you are going to make a statement at least have the balls to stand by it.

I think this could be a great troll attempt!
Its gone from Ireland needing an armed sealift capability,going so far as to dismiss the use of civilian sealifts(as used by all major navies in everything apart from opposed landings)
To an ability to stand our ground and take on the world...
To Irish ships visiting the north pole because...
Hey if those pesky Indian navy types can do it! So should we!
Totally glossing over the fact that the Indian expedition was on fecking ski's not ships!
Not to mention discounting the new OPV's on the basis that they are only really suitable for coastal patrol!

Aindriu just what do you think the Irish Navy's primary mission is?
How much of it do you think boils down to coastal patrol and indertiction/enforcement in fairly inhospitable seas?
Which is exactly what the OPVs are designed to do while allowing a high degree of flexibility and crew comfort!

I'm actually very curious as to what ship you think the Navy should get?
I want to see how your choice of ship will fit into the reality of what the Navy's day to day roles actually are?
Its great to imagine a fleet in being with frigates and a wide range of kick ass armament and capability....
But....
Aside from a 1 in 100000 chance it would ever actually be used in anger, what actual benefit would it bring to the actual day to day navy's needs?
And
When we get these ships, what do we do about our Army?
Surely it needs beefing up to protect our naval investment from landward attack?
a few hundred Tanks? Stryker Gun Teams?
Do we then invest in a multi spectrum and layered air defence network to protect our(according to your wished on number) €10bln naval investment?
And how can we expect these units to operate effectively in the absence of at least a localised air superiority?
So what do we factor in to our spend on Fighters? Tankers? improved and dispersed airfields, not to mention ground crew?
The needs keep mounting as well as the costs!

Cardinal Richelieu · 04-03-2013 11:50pm

aindriu80 wrote: »

Going to the north pole is a realistic proposition for the Irish Navy at some point. We may not have the ship(s) to do it at the moment but its something the country should do. There are some in the Navy that have spoken in favour and there would be lots of spin offs for the country.

The above ship may be a very good suit for such a journey & more but I wouldn't get it . I would post a picture of a ship I think the Irish Navy should get but it might stretch things here.

OK I will bite, why do we need to have the capability to go to the North Pole?

aindriu80 · 05-03-2013 9:52am

Cardinal Richelieu wrote: »

OK I will bite, why do we need to have the capability to go to the North Pole?

We don't need the capability and I don't want to send this thread off on a tangent.

I am well aware of the Irish Navy primary role and obviously the real need is to replace the older vessels in the fleet with newer modern ones largely based on the Rosin etc if not a bit bigger and better.

Navies around the world do have numerous different roles and contribute economically to their country even though the primary role is defence.

aindriu80 · 05-03-2013 7:10pm

goldie fish wrote: »

Jaysus Aindriu, I'm a hares breath away from putting you on ignore for the nonsense you are coming out with now. If you are going to make a statement at least have the balls to stand by it.

You can do that if you want. I'm not going to explain how to carry out any north pole trip.

A lot of the stuff I have seen here has been ATCP orientated (or something like it) and the navy can do something else. New navy ships should be primarily orientated around one force concept and helping out deployments (as opposed to the coast guard). Along with replacing the older PV's with newer ones (better hulled, better crew comfort, stretched PV's) they could tailor some of PV's to include helideck and fast deployment for special forces like the L'Adroit Gowind OPV
dcns_gowind_french_navy_ladroit_hermes_marine_nationale_opv.jpg

dcns_gowind_french_navy_ladroit_hermes_marine_nationale_opv.jpg

I don't know what the shape of the new ships are going to take but no mention of any heli borne operations and Rigid Inflatable Boats do look awkward to launch.

Anyway whatever is on the cards for the navy there is no new capability. Its bit of a quantum leap for the Irish Navy would operate something like the FREMM frigate. They aren't cheap at around €350m - €450m (depending on the fittings) but Morocco can operate (1) them and they really are a frontline warship for any operation we might participate on.

goldie fish · 05-03-2013 7:56pm

Ridge raiders?

Please stop.

Please.

zone 1 · 05-03-2013 8:51pm

FP is the back bone of the naval service . what the hell would you want to be heading to the north pole. with no reason to be there in the first place stupid. with 8 ships id say its hard enough to luck after the seas they are tasked with

aindriu80 · 05-03-2013 9:37pm

zone 1 wrote: »

FP is the back bone of the naval service . what the hell would you want to be heading to the north pole. with no reason to be there in the first place stupid. with 8 ships id say its hard enough to luck after the seas they are tasked with

aye popeye.

But seriously with the amount of worth under Irish territorial waters its an awful shame to spend so little on defence and have so few ships.

aindriu80 · 05-03-2013 9:40pm

goldie fish wrote: »

Ridge raiders?

Please stop.

Please.

Rigid Inflatable Boats.

source · 05-03-2013 9:44pm

aindriu80 wrote: »

Rigid Inflatable Boats.

Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats or RHIBs.

We call them ribs on this side of the atlantic.

aindriu80 · 05-03-2013 9:47pm

source wrote: »

Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats or RHIBs.

We call them ribs on this side of the atlantic.

To be honest I got them completely mixed up and ended up calling them something else completely but yes its the really quick ones with a rigid hull.

Storm 10 · 05-03-2013 10:43pm

I notice that in the recent Naval News Section of the April 2013 Issue of "Ships Monthly" that Indonesia is set to purchase 3 ready-made British built Corvettes at a knockdown price.

The vessels are the "Nakhoda Ragam" class that were originally ordered for the Royal Brunei Navy in 1995.

Improvements and updates will include the replacement of their current Sea Wolf SAM system.

Fine looking Vessels: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Warships_barrow_dock.jpg

Wiki Source:

General characteristics

Type:F2000 Corvette
Displacement:1,940 tonnes
Length:89.9 m (295 ft) LWL, 95 m (312 ft) LOA
Beam:12.8 m (42 ft)
Draught:3.6 m (12 ft)
Propulsion:4 x MAN B&W / Ruston diesel engine (total of 30.2 MW)
2 x shafts

Speed:30 knots (56 km/h)[1]
Range:5,000 nautical miles (9,000 km) at 12 knots (22 km/h)[2]
Complement:79 (room for an additional 24)

Sensors and processing systems:
Radamec 2500 electro-optic weapons director.
Thales Underwater Systems TMS 4130C1 hull-mounted sonar.
BAE Systems Insyte AWS-9 3D E- and F-band air and surface radar.
BAE Insyte 1802SW I/J-band radar trackers.
Kelvin Hughes Type 1007 navigation radar.
Thales Nederland Scout radar for surface search.[2]

Armament:
2 Quad MBDA (Aerospatiale) Exocet MM40 Block II missile launchers.
1 x 16 cell MBDA (BAE Systems) Seawolf surface-to-air missile launcher.
1 x Oto Melara 76mm gun.
2 x MSI Defence DS 30B REMSIG 30mm guns
2 x triple BAE Systems 324mm torpedo tubes.
Thales Sensors Cutlass 242 countermeasures.[2]

Aircraft carried:
1 x S-70B Seahawk

Aviation facilities:
Flightdeck, no hangar

Cardinal Richelieu · 05-03-2013 11:16pm

aindriu80 wrote: »

aye popeye.

But seriously with the amount of worth under Irish territorial waters its an awful shame to spend so little on defence and have so few ships.

Who do you view as a potential threat to that worth, that we need to fork out the price of a children's hospital per ship?

goldie fish · 05-03-2013 11:18pm

Storm 10 wrote: »

I notice that in the recent Naval News Section of the April 2013 Issue of "Ships Monthly" that Indonesia is set to purchase 3 ready-made British built Corvettes at a knockdown price.

The vessels are the "Nakhoda Ragam" class that were originally ordered for the Royal Brunei Navy in 1995.

Improvements and updates will include the replacement of their current Sea Wolf SAM system.

Fine looking Vessels: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Warships_barrow_dock.jpg

Wiki Source:

General characteristics

Type:F2000 Corvette
Displacement:1,940 tonnes
Length:89.9 m (295 ft) LWL, 95 m (312 ft) LOA
Beam:12.8 m (42 ft)
Draught:3.6 m (12 ft)
Propulsion:4 x MAN B&W / Ruston diesel engine (total of 30.2 MW)
2 x shafts

Speed:30 knots (56 km/h)[1]
Range:5,000 nautical miles (9,000 km) at 12 knots (22 km/h)[2]
Complement:79 (room for an additional 24)

Sensors and processing systems:
Radamec 2500 electro-optic weapons director.
Thales Underwater Systems TMS 4130C1 hull-mounted sonar.
BAE Systems Insyte AWS-9 3D E- and F-band air and surface radar.
BAE Insyte 1802SW I/J-band radar trackers.
Kelvin Hughes Type 1007 navigation radar.
Thales Nederland Scout radar for surface search.[2]

Armament:
2 Quad MBDA (Aerospatiale) Exocet MM40 Block II missile launchers.
1 x 16 cell MBDA (BAE Systems) Seawolf surface-to-air missile launcher.
1 x Oto Melara 76mm gun.
2 x MSI Defence DS 30B REMSIG 30mm guns
2 x triple BAE Systems 324mm torpedo tubes.
Thales Sensors Cutlass 242 countermeasures.[2]

Aircraft carried:
1 x S-70B Seahawk

Aviation facilities:
Flightdeck, no hangar

Did you see how much they paid?

Storm 10 · 05-03-2013 11:30pm

goldie fish wrote: »

Did you see how much they paid?

I did not im afraid, the article did not say so either. It did say the unused corvettes are to be bought for 20% of their original cost.

Storm 10 · 05-03-2013 11:38pm

Not much in Size/Length between those Corvettes and LE Eithne?

Cardinal Richelieu · 05-03-2013 11:50pm

http://www.asianmilitaryreview.com/indonesias-military-modernization/

At the same time the Indonesia Navy plans to procure the three Nakhoda Ragam OPVs that were built for but then rejected by Brunei. Navy Chief Admiral Soeparno stated that the Indonesian Navy plans to obtain the three ships in the 2013-2014 timeframe at a cost of $380 million though the Indonesian Parliamentary Committee overseeing defence has opposed the plan.

Of course Indonesia has allocated a budget of $8.4 billion to finance procurement of military equipment this year.

goldie fish · 06-03-2013 9:15am

Storm 10 wrote: »

I did not im afraid, the article did not say so either. It did say the unused corvettes are to be bought for 20% of their original cost.

US $1.7bn for the 3 ships.

Thats twice our annual defence budget.

Capt'n Midnight · 06-03-2013 12:16pm

Storm 10 wrote: »

I notice that in the recent Naval News Section of the April 2013 Issue of "Ships Monthly" that Indonesia is set to purchase 3 ready-made British built Corvettes at a knockdown price.

UK arms sales to Indonesia remember the fuss over that in the past.

Who knows if this is anything more than a loss-leader to get back in the game after not selling to them for so long ?

For political reasons we'd be unlikely to have got the same deal, even though we've bought ex UK boats before.

pilatus · 16-03-2013 3:17am

Any recent photos of the new build? One would imagine it's starting to look more and more complete now .

goldie fish · 16-03-2013 6:10pm

pilatus wrote: »

Any recent photos of the new build? One would imagine it's starting to look more and more complete now .

No photos cleared for release yet. Hull is more or less complete. Engines were test run at manufacturers recently and should be fitted by now also.

pilatus · 16-03-2013 11:32pm

Thanks Goldie. The anticipation is building now waiting for the first photos to appear. Shouldn't be long hopefully.

nowecant · 20-03-2013 1:25pm

Some interesting information from Inshore-Ireland on new vessels for the INS, not really sure about some of the facts though. I thought the new ships were to be 90m long, and an option on a third. I also thought the MRV, which i would love to see the service get was a lot further off that this piece seems to indicate.

http://www.inshore-ireland.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=149&Itemid=133

nowecant · 20-03-2013 1:27pm

Another article in the Irish Times about the subject which seems to be slightly more accurate.

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/keels-laid-for-99m-naval-service-vessels-1.522001

goldie fish · 20-03-2013 9:26pm

The first article is from 2008. Very Very early in the program and before willie o dea decided not to bother making any decisions, Contracts had not even been drawn up by then, never mind signed. The Cdr Mellett in the article is now Commodore, 2 ranks on.
The second is from Last May.

pilatus · 21-03-2013 4:07pm

While on the subject of new ships and apologies if this has already been asked, but when is the next white paper on defence due, that should dictate the roles and therefore what ships we will acquire in the next decade? Thanks.

goldie fish · 21-03-2013 10:12pm

Green Paper(setting out the consultative process for the white paper) due out this month. White paper should be complete end of 2015. A lot of decisions on the future path of all arms of the DF will be decided in it.

NewSigGuy · 22-03-2013 4:40am

So there will be a "green paper" this time??

Morpheus · 22-03-2013 3:44pm

theres always a green paper first then the white paper.

NewSigGuy · 22-03-2013 5:10pm

Morpheus wrote: »

theres always a green paper first then the white paper.

Maybe I'm wrong but I thought the last White paper on defense was released without any consultative green paper..

NewSigGuy · 22-03-2013 5:25pm

Here is a link to a recent Dail question, the Minister says the last white paper emerged without any consultation.

http://debates.oireachtas.ie/dail/2012/02/08/00013.asp

goldie fish · 22-03-2013 8:44pm

There was a certain consultative process, but it was a bit flawed, in that those who made submissions included golf clubs, residents associations, the Green party and other pointless organisations, interested only in what they could get from the DF.

goldie fish · 14-04-2013 10:45pm

MES, the electrical Contractor for the new build process have placed a case study on the sensor fitout on their website.

http://www.marineelectronicsystems.com/p/mission-system-case-study.html

2012 and 2013 have seen MES working extensively on the mission system design of the 2 new Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPV) for the Irish Naval Service in build at Babcock’s Appledore shipyard. The multi million pound contract encompasses supply and installation of a complete integrated mission system suite comprising of an integrated navigation bridge system, internal and external communications outfits, and an electro-optical surveillance/gunfire control system.

Unfortunately the new images on the page are not functioning.

Donny5 · 14-04-2013 10:59pm

goldie fish wrote: »

Unfortunately the new images on the page are not functioning.

Oh, God, look at the image URLs - stuff like "webkit-fake-url://122DADF3-2775-4B8E-8682-59A2662DB665/application.pdf", which is what happens when someone tries to drag and drop a local image from their hard drive into a WebKit editor. Some serious web-dev failure right there.

goldie fish · 15-04-2013 1:47am

Donny5 wrote: »

Oh, God, look at the image URLs - stuff like "webkit-fake-url://122DADF3-2775-4B8E-8682-59A2662DB665/application.pdf", which is what happens when someone tries to drag and drop a local image from their hard drive into a WebKit editor. Some serious web-dev failure right there.

Must be a student in on co-op updating the website...:rolleyes:

nowecant · 13-05-2013 3:21pm

Does anyone have any update on the first ship?

Has the second been started? and when might the option for the third be exercised?

Also, slightly off topic but does anyone have any information on the MRV that was talked about a few years ago? Is it still just a dream?

goldie fish · 13-05-2013 5:33pm

nowecant wrote: »

Does anyone have any update on the first ship?

Has the second been started? and when might the option for the third be exercised?

Also, slightly off topic but does anyone have any information on the MRV that was talked about a few years ago? Is it still just a dream?

First ship is well advanced. It will be commencing sea trials in the late autumn. They have started to cut steel for the second ship. The option for the third will not be considered until after the First ship has been commissioned, at the earliest. At the same time a decision will have to be made whether or not to go to tender for the EPV.(What the MRV became when the army stole the MRV abbreviation).

nowecant · 13-05-2013 5:42pm

Thanks, much appreciated.

MRV or EPV, the name doesn't really bother me ;-) I would love to see them get something like http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDMS_Absalon_%28L16%29 I have no idea how much this would cost without some of the weapon systems and other services that we would not need but other than that it seems just slightly bigger than what was being mooted last time I looked into this.

Any thoughts? Has anyone got a list of possible contenders for the EPV?

nowecant · 20-05-2013 2:16pm

In case no one seen this

http://www.herald.ie/news/navys-emer-and-aoife-sail-into-sunset-29269843.html

Navy's Emer and Aoife sail into sunset

Michael Lavery – 15 May 2013 02:48 PM

LE Emer and sister ship LE Aoife were built between 1978 and 1980 in the Verolme dockyard, in Cobh, Co Cork.

The first ship of four in the Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) class built in Cork in 1972, the LE Deirdre, was decommissioned in 2001 and sold for €190,000. She was later converted into a luxury yacht.

The two ships will be replaced by two new OPVs – in a contract worth more than €99m – which are being built for the Naval Service at Appledore shipyard in Devon in the UK.

The first of the new ships is scheduled for delivery early next year. The second will follow in 2015.

LE Emer undertook the first ever deployment of an Irish naval ship to resupply Irish troops serving with the United Nations in Lebanon in 1978.

EXPLOSION

The Aoife played a major role in locating the flight recorder of the Air India Boeing 747 Jumbo airliner, which crashed off the Irish south coast in 1985 after a bomb explosion, killing 329 people on board.

The Department of Defence is seeking expressions of interest for the sale of Emer and Aoife by May 23 next.

The two new OPVs are designed to serve for up to 40 years, mainly in the North Atlantic, out to Ireland's 200 mile European Economic Zone limit and beyond.

Savage93 · 21-05-2013 6:43pm

nowecant wrote: »

In case no one seen this

http://www.herald.ie/news/navys-emer-and-aoife-sail-into-sunset-29269843.html

US just sold 2 Perry class frigates to Taiwan for $20m, some bargain see details
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Hazard_Perry-class_frigate

3 New Navy Vessels for Irish Naval Service

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