French shipbuilding company Piriou has launched the third and final offshore patrol vessel (OPV) built for the Navy of Senegal.
According to the company’s social media post, the vessel Cayor was launched on 2 May. The firm signed a contract to build three vessels in November 2019.
?? Aujourd’hui a eu lieu à #Concarneau la cérémonie de mise à l’eau du CAYOR, patrouilleur hauturier destiné à la Marine sénégalaise. Après le #WALO et le #NIANI , il s’agit de la troisième et dernière unité du programme #OPV58S . #KERSHIP | @navalgroup | @MBDAGroup pic.twitter.com/ivMOHfL77W
The launch of the second vessel, OPV Niani, took place in September 2022.
The vessels are 62-meter dedicated to missions such as surveillance and sea control. The units are 9.5 meters wide and have a maximum draft of 2.9 meters. The OPVs have steel hulls and aluminium superstructures with a 360-degree panoramic bridge.
The OPVs will feature MARTE MK2/N anti-ship missiles with a range of more than 30 kilometers. Furthermore, immediate protection of the patrollers will be ensured by the SIMBAD-RC system that carries two MISTRAL missiles. The missiles are developed by MBDA.
According to the French firm, this combination providing an extremely effective defence capability against all threats including anti-ship missiles, combat aircraft, UAVs, helicopters, as well as small surface threats such as those presented by FIACs.
The construction programme for these three patrol boats was carried out with the support and expertise of the firm’s subsidiary KERSHIP.