OPV order for Lürssen

Well-known shipbuilders such as Damen and Fincantieri can be found on Bulgaria's Black Sea coast, supplying - as recently to Pakistan - favourably priced medium-sized platforms. At the beginning of November, Lürssen was able to secure a not exactly large, but important order there. Defence Minister Krassimir Karakachanov signed a contract worth half a billion euros with the Bremen-based shipbuilding company for the construction of two "Modular Multipurpose Patrol Vessels" (MMPV). The ships, which will be based on the OPV-90 design and weigh around 2,000 tonnes, are to be built at the MTG Dolphin shipyard in Varna with delivery dates of 2025 and 2026, although details of armament and equipment were not yet available. As a contract for the procurement of eight F-16 fighter jets from Lockheed Martin was also signed on the same day, Bulgaria comes very close to meeting the two per cent NATO target for defence spending almost at a stroke.

Text: ajs; Graphic: Lürssen