DSCT completes two patrol vessels
Damen Shipyards Cape Town (DSCT) in South Africa has completed building two FCS 5009 patrol vessels.
These are the first vessels of their type built in South Africa.
The vessels have been prepared by the DSCT for outfitting with a sea rogue weaponry system. This system will include a 20mm cannon forward of the wheelhouse and two 12.7mm Browning guns on the port and starboard sides of the wheelhouse. The system can be operated by a hand controller and has an accurate target-tracking feature.
Sam Montsi, chairman, DSCT, said: ‘The FCS 5009 is deliverable in two formats. It can be either a fast crew supply ship or a security patrol vessel.’
DSCT is able to carry out the final conversion for either option within a matter of weeks. They are outfitted with MTU engines that offer a light weight-to-power ratio for increased speed.
More from Naval Warfare
-
![SOF Week 2026: US Navy USV completes record eight-day autonomous mission]()
SOF Week 2026: US Navy USV completes record eight-day autonomous mission
The MARTAC T38 Devil Ray USV has set a new endurance benchmark as the US Navy pushes deeper into autonomous maritime warfare.
-
![UK Royal Navy dock build question remains open ahead of Programme Euston tender]()
UK Royal Navy dock build question remains open ahead of Programme Euston tender
The UK MoD’s Programme Euston floating dry dock tender has exposed a question about the UK’s naval industrial base: does Britain still have the depth to sustain its own deterrent without foreign intervention.
-
![A closer look at the US Navy’s $268 billion investment in shipbuilding by 2031]()
A closer look at the US Navy’s $268 billion investment in shipbuilding by 2031
The recently released USN 2026 Shipbuilding Plan anticipates the procurement of 185 crewed and uncrewed platforms in the next five years.
-
![SAHA 2026: Turkey markets modular undersea systems to European buyers]()
SAHA 2026: Turkey markets modular undersea systems to European buyers
Turkey’s defence industry is pushing a class of platform and building an entire philosophy of cost-imposition around it.
-
![STM’s European wins strengthen Turkey’s naval credibility on the continent]()
STM’s European wins strengthen Turkey’s naval credibility on the continent
Turkish defence and engineering company STM is attempting to challenge Europe’s established naval primes by winning contracts from Portugal to Pakistan – with a business model built on working in any shipyard in the world.
