France orders seven offshore patrol vessels
Seven new OPVs are destined for the French Navy. (Image: Naval Group)
The first offshore patrol vessel (OPV) is scheduled for delivery in 2026 and 10 OPVs are expected to be in service by 2035. They are intended to replace the high seas patrol vessels based in Brest and Toulon, as well as the Cherbourg public service patrol boats.
The French Navy will receive seven OPVs under a €900 million (US$981 million) with government procurement agency Directorate General of Armaments (DGA) acting as prime contractor, Naval Group providing project management assistance and Thales providing hull sonar and other systems.
A production contract was also notified to the temporary consortium of companies consisting of CMN, Piriou and Socarenam.
Thales was awarded a contract to equip the first seven OPVs with maritime surveillance equipment, specifically Bluewatcher hull sonars, N550 compact multi-mission surveillance radars and TSA 3522 Identification Friend or Foe systems, and will also carry out systems integration.
DGA said in a statement: ‘The first stage of the offshore patrol vessel programme, based on the acquisition of seven vessels, will fill a gap in the second-tier vessel segment taking into account the decommissioning of offshore patrol vessels that have already taken place.’
The new OPVs will replace the Estienne d’Orves class of type A69 Avisos and OPV54-class patrol boats. They will operate in French littoral waters, primarily across the continental shelf to depths of 200m and continental slope and rise to depths of 1,000m. Designed for long endurance, the new multi-role OPVs will perform escort roles for front-line warships.
Shephard Defence Insight noted that the procurement was previously known as BATSIMAR (Bâtiment de surveillance et d’intervention maritime), then PHM-NG, but has now been labelled “Future Ocean Patrol” under the Patrouilleurs Océanique programme.
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
More from Naval Warfare
-
![SAHA 2026: Aselsan seeks to replicate Turkey’s UAV success at sea]()
SAHA 2026: Aselsan seeks to replicate Turkey’s UAV success at sea
Turkey’s defence electronics company has unveiled two new uncrewed naval systems at SAHA 2026 – but the harder test will be converting it into an export success.
-
![HHI poised to start submarine production in Peru pending election outcome]()
HHI poised to start submarine production in Peru pending election outcome
South Korea’s HD Hyundai Heavy Industries confirmed to Shephard that the company is awaiting the Peruvian government’s decision to allow it to move forward with the production of the HDS-1500 submarine.
-
![US Navy to accelerate the replenishment of SM-6 stocks as demand continues to surge]()
US Navy to accelerate the replenishment of SM-6 stocks as demand continues to surge
The Naval Sea Systems Command exercised a US$335 million modification to a contract with RTX Raytheon to support increasing the production of Standard Missiles 6 by 2030. Shephard spoke with the company president about how the company has scaled to meet demand.
