The ''Oaxaca'' class are

offshore patrol vessels Offshore may refer to: Science and technology * Offshore (hydrocarbons) * Offshore construction, construction out at sea * Offshore drilling, discovery and development of oil and gas resources which lie underwater through drilling a well * O ...

, constructed and designed by and for the

Mexican Navy The Mexican Navy is one of the two independent armed forces of Mexico. The actual naval forces are called the ''Armada de México''. The ''Secretaría de Marina'' (''SEMAR'') (English: Naval Secretariat) includes both the ''Armada'' itself and ...

. The class is named after the Mexican state of

Oaxaca Oaxaca ( , also , , from nci, Huāxyacac ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca), is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of Mexico. It is ...

. The Mexican Navy has requested seven of these ships with four already in service, three in construction, which were disclosed on June 1 on the Navy anniversary, with the name PO-163 ''Independencia'', which is to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Independence of Mexico. Also, another ship PO-164, named ''Revolucion'', is in the process of raising the Mexican flag in a couple of months. Two more to be constructed in Navy's Naval Shipyards.

Description

The vessels are long and have a

draft Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vessel ...

of , and a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...

of . They displace . Primary armament is a single OTO Melara naval gun or

Bofors 57 mm gun The Bofors 57 mm gun is a nickname or designation given to several types of guns designed and developed by the Swedish company Bofors: *, a 57 mm anti tank gun for the Swedish army during WW2. * Bofors 57 mm Automatic Gun L/50, a 57 ...

. They also mount a pair of

OTO Melara OTO Melara was a subsidiary of the Italian company Finmeccanica, today Leonardo, active in the defence sector, with factories in Brescia and La Spezia. The Mod 56 pack howitzer, in service throughout the world, and the 76mm naval gun, ado ...

remote controlled naval turret Mod. 517 with M2

machine guns A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) a ...

, one on each side. At the rear atop the helicopter hangar is a single OTO Melara cannon. The class has a helipad on the afterdeck with handling capabilities for a variety of helicopters, such as the

Panther Panther may refer to: Large cats *Pantherinae, the cat subfamily that contains the genera ''Panthera'' and ''Neofelis'' **''Panthera'', the cat genus that contains tigers, lions, jaguars and leopards. ***Jaguar (''Panthera onca''), found in Sout ...

, Fennec, or the Bolkow B-105 Super-5. The ''Oaxaca''-class vessels have a top speed of over and a cruising speed of . The ships carry a

complement A complement is something that completes something else. Complement may refer specifically to: The arts * Complement (music), an interval that, when added to another, spans an octave ** Aggregate complementation, the separation of pitch-class ...

of 77, and have provisions to carry a group of 39 special forces and/or marines for a variety of missions. The ''Oaxaca'' class also carries a CB-90 HMN Patrol Interceptor in its

well deck In traditional nautical use, well decks were decks lower than decks fore and aft, usually at the main deck level, so that breaks appear in the main deck profile, as opposed to a flush deck profile. The term goes back to the days of sail. Late-20 ...

. For the 2008 fiscal year, the

Mexican Congress The Congress of the Union ( es, Congreso de la Unión, ), formally known as the General Congress of the United Mexican States (''Congreso General de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos''), is the legislature of the federal government of Mexico cons ...

approved $68 million in funds to build two more ''Oaxaca''-class ships, and pledged an additional $40 million in 2009.

Mission

The objectives for the ''Oaxaca'' class are oceanic surveillance, search and rescue operations, support for the civilian population in case of disasters, maritime support and to act as a deterrence against hostile ships and aircraft in low-medium intensity conflicts.

Ships

References

* Wertheim, E. (2007) ''Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World: Their Ships, Aircraft, and Systems''. 15 edition. US Naval Institute Press.

External links

Secretaria de Marina, Armada de Mexico : Patrol Boats

OTO Melara Small Calibres

Photograph of Oaxaca class
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oaxaca Class Patrol Vessel Patrol vessels of the Mexican Navy Patrol ship classes