Show of force for Malta

摘要

Italy's Vittoria Shipyard has delivered its largest offshore patrol vessel (OPV) to date to the Armed Forces of Malta (AFM). Operating under the name P71, the vessel was ordered in a €48 million (US$57 million) contract, co-financed by the EU as part of its 2014-2020 Internal Security Fund.P71 will serve as the AFM's flagship and will boost the islands surveillance, search and rescue (SAR) and coastal/offshore patrol capabilities in the Central Mediterranean Sea. Size-wise, the newcomer trumps the AFM's current biggest patrol ships: namely, the 65.2m × 10.5m, soon to be retired P62 (originally built in Ireland in 1978, but commissioned by the AFM and renamed in 2015); and the 53.4m × 8.1m, Fincantieri-built P61.