“The vessel will arrive in the next few days, to Puerto Cortés, in the Honduran Caribbean, and will join the tasks of combating drug trafficking and cruise ship protection. The OPV has high maritime technology and a great capacity to navigate at the Honduran sea,” Honduran Minister of Defense Díaz said.

The ship, which was built by Israel Shipyards, has a length of 62 m, displaces approximately 500 tonnes, has a maximum speed of 32 knots, and possesses a landing deck for a helicopter. It was launched in July. Based on the combat-proven SA’AR 4.5 design used by the Israeli Navy, the OPV 62m is even more versatile and mission-ready, with extensive payload capacity including stabilized weapons, Rafael Spike medium-range missiles, ESM, and TechMer communications system, and a Terma radar system.

Honduras Navy will receive two more remote-controlled weapon stations for existing vessels from Elbit Systems.

Maritime Business World