On October 19, 2023, the Minister of Defense of Uruguay Javier Garcia announced the approval by the President of this country Luis Alberto Lacalle of a contract worth 82.2 million euros with the Spanish shipbuilding company Cardama for the construction of two patrol ships for the Uruguayan Navy. Thus, the contract entered into force.
Image of a promising patrol ship of the Spanish for the Uruguayan Navy of the Spanish shipbuilding company Cardama (variant with a 76-mm artillery installation) (c) Ministry of Defense of Uruguay
As a result, Uruguay has completed more than a decade-long epic of searching for new patrol ships for the country's Navy, during which a large number of suppliers were sorted out, but given the limited financial resources and domestic political criticism, it was not possible to come to a specific procurement agreement for a long time. Ultimately, in June 2023, the Ministry of Defense of Uruguay, during the next tender, selected the proposal of a small Spanish shipbuilding company Astilleros Cardama from Vigo, which presented a patrol ship project developed by the famous Spanish design bureau Cintranaval. The Cardama offer was chosen because of the obviously low price. Although such low declared price parameters, as well as the choice of a small shipyard not engaged in military shipbuilding and specializing in the construction of service vessels and tugs, were criticized in Uruguay, but in the end the contract was still concluded. According to its terms, both patrol ships should be handed over to the Uruguayan Navy in 2025.
Their acquisition will allow the Uruguayan Navy to restore its capabilities, degraded after the decommissioning in 2018 and 2022 of both former Portuguese frigates of the French-built João Belo type of the 1960s (they were bought by Uruguay in 2008). As a result, now only six nominally combat units remain in the Uruguayan fleet - two former Kondor II-type minesweepers built in the 1970s and four former American patrol boats (one Cape-type built in 1958 and three Marine Protector-type built in 2000 purchased in 2022) used as patrol ships.
The new patrol ships ordered by Cardama from Uruguay should have a standard displacement of 1,700 tons, a length of 86.74 m, a width of 12.2 m and a draft of 3.6 m. A two-shaft main power plant with two Caterpillar diesel engines with variable pitch propellers should provide a full stroke speed of 23-24 knots. The capacity is 80 people, including the crew. The ship should be provided with a Bell 412 helicopter based in a hangar, and two semi-rigid motor boats that are quickly launched through the aft slip will also be placed. The ship's armament consists of remotely controlled installations of the Spanish company Escribano - a tank Sentinel 30 with a 30 mm automatic cannon and two Sentinel 2.0 with 12.7 mm machine guns, as well as the Oteos N fire control system of the same company. Reinforcements and volumes should be installed for the possibility of replacing the 30-mm artillery installation with the 76-mm Leonardo Super Rapid installation. The complex of radio equipment will be supplied by the Danish company Terma, including the C-Flex ASBU and the Terma 6002 search radar. The possibility of installing containerized modular target loads is provided.
Also, the Minister of Defense of Uruguay announced the acquisition of the oceanographic research vessel Mt. Mitchell for the Uruguayan navy from the American company Global Seas. The 1800-ton 70-meter vessel Mt. Mitchell built in 1968 was previously (until 1995) used in the interests of the Coast Guard and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the United States. The vessel was purchased by Uruguay for $ 3.7 million and is due to arrive in Uruguay in mid-2024 after repairs. As part of the Uruguayan fleet, it will replace the German-built hydrographic vessel ROU 22 Oyarvide, which was decommissioned in 2022.
