The sixth Harry DeWolf-class Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ship (AOPS) for the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) will be christened Robert Hampton Gray, the Canadian Department of National Defence announced on 10 August.
Shephard Defence Insight forecasts that the sixth AOPS will be delivered in 2024. The new vessel will join Harry DeWolf (delivered to the RCN on 31 July 2020), Margaret Brooke, Max Bernays, William Hall, and Frédérick Rolette.
The Harry DeWolf-class of ice-capable OPVs is based on the Svalbard class of Norwegian Coast Guard vessels. The RCN ships will be capable of armed seaborne surveillance of Canadian waters. They will provide ‘government situational awareness of activities and events in these regions, and cooperating with partners to assert and enforce Canadian sovereignty’, the DND stated.
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Harry DeWolf Class (AOPS) Coast Guard (7-8) [Canada]
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