- Reaction score
- 0
- Points
- 360
I wonder if this OPV will be a match for the RN OPV HMS Clyde stationed in the Falklands?
Janes' 360
Janes' 360
China, Argentina set for defence collaboration, Malvinas-class OPV deal
Argentine president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner is expected to sign agreements with China to increase military co-operation, including construction of new warships for the Argentine Navy, during a visit to Beijing on 3-5 February, according to media reports.
The expanded level of Argentine-Chinese military co-operation, which has been about a year in preparation, follows the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on 29 October 2014 by an Argentine-Chinese Joint Committee on Co-operation in the Field of Defence Technology and Industry. The actual joint development programmes were finalised during a visit by a Chinese defence trade delegation to Buenos Aires in late January.
In late 2014 the Argentine government reportedly accepted a Chinese offer to meet its long-standing requirement for a new class of offshore patrol vessel. Over the last decade Argentina has considered purchasing designs from Brazil, Germany, and Spain, but China has reportedly succeeded in selling a more capable warship: a version of the China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation's (CSIC) P18 export corvette.
Somewhat controversially, this vessel will be known as the Malvinas class, after the Argentine name for the Falkland Islands: a UK sovereign territory that Argentine forces invaded in April 1982 before being defeated by a British task force in a conflict that claimed 907 lives.
Two P18N corvettes were sold to Nigeria in 2012 for USD42 million each.
A model of China's P18 export corvette, a number of which Beijing has reportedly sold to Argentina. Somewhat controversially, the vessels in Argentine service will be known as the Malvinas class. Source: R D Fisher
