At the moment the P50 class is undergoing a mid-life refit, while this will given some more years of service by the end of this decade they will be 30yrs old and needing a replacement. One of the PESCO projects which is growing in size is the European Patrol Corvette which now included Italy, France, Greece and Spain with Portugal and Bulgaria have also expressed interest in joining. It looks likely that this program could involve building 20+ similar vessels with up to 30 being easily in reach. At present the EPC is thought to be around 3000t with a length of 110-115m. The vessel design will be modular to give it the flexibility to undertake a large varity of missions with different systems and payloads.
The suggested configurations of the EPC are:
It is expected that the first version, the Italian would enter service in 2027 and the first French vessel in 2030. This would put the building program right in the timeframe for the P50 replacement. While many may contend that we can wait and see what designs finally emerge I would caution. The designs will be driven by those who were involved at the early design stages when many of the key decisions are taken. So if the EPC could be a potential replacement for the P50s we would need to get involved early/now. Being involved does not mean that we have committed to buying the final result, but gives a chance to influence the final design.
The suggested configurations of the EPC are:
- A limited warship optimized for surface warfare and able to counter airborne attacks as well as undertake anti-submarine missions.
- A limited warship for lengthy missions (10,000 nautical miles at 14 knots) that can conduct surface warfare missions.
- An offshore patrol vessel in various configurations.
It is expected that the first version, the Italian would enter service in 2027 and the first French vessel in 2030. This would put the building program right in the timeframe for the P50 replacement. While many may contend that we can wait and see what designs finally emerge I would caution. The designs will be driven by those who were involved at the early design stages when many of the key decisions are taken. So if the EPC could be a potential replacement for the P50s we would need to get involved early/now. Being involved does not mean that we have committed to buying the final result, but gives a chance to influence the final design.
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