British company Kelvin Hughes will be supplying its SharpEye radar systems for the two follow-on Batch 2 River-class offshore patrol vessels HMS Tamar and HMS Spey.
The announcement from Monday follows an earlier contract from 2015 for the delivery of same systems for the first three vessels in the class, HMS Forth, HMS Medway and HMS Trent.
Each ship will be equipped with a SharpEye I-Band radar for helicopter control and navigation as well as an E/F-Band SharpEye radar for navigation and collision avoidance.
In addition, Kelvin Hughes said it would be supplying its ARPA widescreen radar display for all of the Batch 2 OPVs. The radar sets will be interfaced with each ship’s combat management system and other third-party systems such as WECDIS and WAIS.
Fundamentally different in appearance and capabilities from the Batch 1 OPVs, the Batch 2 ships have been designed with a Merlin-capable flight deck and a greatly expanded capacity for accommodating troops.
Construction of the two vessels began at BAE Systems’ Govan shipyard in Scotland in December 2016. The vessels are expected to be delivered to the Royal Navy in 2019.