ARA Bouchard (formerly L'Adroit) is a patrol vessel designed by the French company DCNS for maritime protection missions. She was originally part of the Gowind family of corvettes and patrol vessels but the less military members of the family like Bouchard have been moved into the Kership consortium. The design was self-funded by DCNS without an initial customer, and was initially leased to the French Navy as L'Adroit before being sold to the Argentine Navy in November 2018.[4] The vessel was commissioned as ARA Bouchard in December 2019.[5]
 Offshore patrol ship Adroit, future Bouchard
| |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Builders | DCNS (now Kership) |
| Operators | |
| Built | May 2010 – June 2011 |
| In commission | 2012 – present |
| Planned | 4 |
| Building | 1 |
| Completed | 3 |
| Active | 3 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Gowind-class corvette |
| Displacement | 1,450 t (1,430 long tons) (full load) |
| Length | 87 m (285 ft 5 in) |
| Beam | 11 m (36 ft 1 in) |
| Draft | 3.3 m (10 ft 10 in) |
| Installed power | Electrical: |
| Propulsion | 2 Anglo Belgian Corporation V12 diesel engines, 5.6 MW (7,500 hp) |
| Speed | 21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph) |
| Range | 8,000 nmi (14,800 km; 9,200 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) |
| Endurance | 30 days |
| Boats & landing craft carried | 2 × 9 m (30 ft) RHIBs |
| Complement | 30 core crew, up to 29 troops |
| Sensors and processing systems |
|
| Electronic warfare & decoys |
|
| Armament |
|
| Aircraft carried | |
| Aviation facilities | Helicopter pad and hangar |
Design
editBouchard has a 360° panoramic bridge and an integrated mast. The minimal superstructure of the ship leaves a substantial space available for air operations (helicopters, UAVs) and for launch and recovery of surface assets (RHIBs or USVs). Bouchard's missions are managed by a combat system, which supplies essential detailed information on the ship’s environment, acquired by various detectors, deployed sensors and other ships integrated into the surveillance network. The mission system can also include a maritime surveillance system capable of detecting suspicious course profiles automatically.
The vessel is capable of a variety of missions usually associated with offshore patrol of economic zones.
History
editPlaced at the disposal of the French Navy by DCNS for a period of three years, L'Adroit sailed from her home base on France's Mediterranean coast in May 2012 to conduct her first fishery policing and maritime security mission, including deployment for Operation Thon Rouge, monitoring fishing vessels with red tuna quotas for 2012.
Argentine service
editL'Adroit was sold to the Argentine Navy in November 2018,[4] and was commissioned as ARA Bouchard in December 2019.[5] She is home based at Mar del Plata naval base.[6]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "La Armada Argentina instala un cañón Marlin 30 mm WS en el ARA Bouchard - Noticias Infodefensa América". 17 December 2020.
- ^ "Armada Argentina encarga un dron naval RUAS-160 a INVAP". 15 December 2021.
- ^ "RUAS-160: Así es el helicóptero no tripulado diseñado en la Argentina". 29 April 2020.
- ^ a b "OPV argentins : le contrat de vente est signé". meretmarine.com (in French). 30 November 2018. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
- ^ a b "Argentine Navy commissions ARA Bouchard OPV". Jane's. Jane's Group UK Limited. 10 December 2019. Archived from the original on 11 December 2019. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
- ^ "Patrullero Oceánico ARA "Bouchard" (P-51)". Argentina.gob.ar (in Spanish). 2020-01-16. Retrieved 2021-02-12.