Eighteen
months after construction began, the Gowind offshore patrol vessel L'Adroit,
an innovative maritime safety and security platform, has left DCNS's
Lorient shipyard, where it was built, on a course for France's Toulon
naval base, its home port. Built under a DCNS-funded programme, L'Adroit
incorporates a number of major innovations. DCNS has made the vessel
available to the French Navy for three years, and over the next few
months it will have a chance to demonstrate its exceptional operational
qualities on French Navy missions.
A symbol of DCNS's ambition to win a larger share of the markets for
small- and medium-displacement surface ships, the Gowind OPV L'Adroit
put out from Lorient on Saturday 19 November on a course for Toulon,
where it will arrive late next week.
"Its departure marks the end of the L'Adroit construction
phase at Lorient," said Marc Maynard, Gowind OPV L'Adroit programme
manager. "In 18 months, the 100 people involved in the programme
have successfully met the major industrial challenge of building this
innovative vessel packed with state-of-the-art technologies. We are
confident that the French Navy will demonstrate the vessel's impressive
capabilities, helping to promote Gowind in international markets as
a needs-responsive range of naval vessels with real operational value."
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Over the next three years, the French Navy will thoroughly
test the vessel, designed for current and emerging maritime safety &
security missions, including fisheries surveillance, drug interdiction,
environmental protection, humanitarian support and search & rescue
at sea.
With two crews rotating every four months, L'Adroit will offer a high
level of at-sea availability, spending 220 days a year on operational
missions.
The Gowind OPV L'Adroit has a length of 87 metres, an at-sea endurance
of more than 3 weeks and a range of 8,000 nautical miles. With a top
speed of 21 knots, the vessel has a helicopter flight deck and can accommodate
UAV operations. It is designed for reduced crewing, with a complement
of 30 and space for 30 passengers.
Innovations and capabilities of special interest to ship-based naval,
commando and coast guard forces include a panoramic bridge offering
360° visibility, a single enclosed mast offering 360° sensor
visibility, covert deployment of fast commando boats in less than five
minutes and full provision for unmanned aerial and surface vehicles
(UAVs and USVs).
The Gowind family also benefits from DCNS's extensive experience in
command information systems. These vessels can be readily tailored for
extended area surveillance and, when working in conjunction with shore-based
control centres and other networked ships, for the automatic detection
of suspicious behaviour by ships and other craft.
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