According to a Tweet released by the Argentine Navy on September 27, 2020, the hull and the superstructure of the second OPV (Offshore Patrol Vessel) ARA Piedrabuena built by the French shipyard naval Group at the Kership Shipyard is completed after 19 months of work.
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The second OPV Offshore Patrol Vessel ARA Piedrabuena for Argentine Navy at the Kership Shipyard in France. (Picture source Argentine Navy Twitter account)
The OPV (Offshore Patrol Vessel) contract for the Argentine Navy was launched on February 14, 2019, Kership was selected to build the three OPVs for the Argentine Navy, a joint company formed by French civil shipbuilder Piriou and Naval shipbuilder Naval Group, previously DCNS.
French Company Naval Group has concluded a contract with Argentina to equip its Navy with four Offshore Patrol Vessels OPV 87 including L’Adroit. The ARA Piedrabuena is similar to the ARA Bouchard ex-Adroit of the French Navy built by the French Company Naval Group. The ship was used by the French Navy (Marine Nationale) from 2011 to 2018, demonstrating the relevance and operational value of this new class of Offshore Patrol Vessels in theatres of operations.
In December 2019, the Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) L’Adroit has adopted the Argentinian flag and becomes the A.R.A. BOUCHARD. The first of the four OPVs ordered by Argentina.
L’Adroit is a Gowind Class offshore patrol vessel (OPV), which was designed and built by DCNS, now Naval Group, for the French Navy to conduct maritime safety and security missions. It has an overall length of 87 m, a beam of 13 m, and a design draught of 3.3 m. The full load displacement of the ship is 1,450 t. It has a crew of 30 sailors and can accommodate up to 30 passengers. It has an endurance of three weeks and a range of 8,000 nautical miles at a maximum speed of 21 kt.
The Adroit is armed with one 20mm gun on the foredeck and two 50 cal. machine guns. In addition, L’Adroit is equipped with modern systems for communications, radar surveillance and electronic warfare, integrated into the Polaris® mission management system. This software system merges gathered information to support navigation and allows sharing with other vessels.
