PARIS, France (BulgarianMilitary.com) – Two Bulgarian military patrol ships attracted the attention of the experts during the largest exhibition of naval equipment and technologies Euronaval 2018, which is taking place in Paris. They are designed by the shipyard MTG – Dolphin, which is the only Bulgarian representative among the 400 companies, participating in the exhibition.

The company, based in Varna, presented a 150-tonne ship for offshore protection (LPV-35) and a 550-tonne patrol vessel for protection of the exclusive economic zone (OPV-60). Both designs were highly evaluated by the international experts and high-level representatives of countries from three continents showed interest in them.

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“We’d like to partner with countries that have to cope simultaneously with the increasing complexity of the maritime environment and limited budgets,” explained Svetlin Stoyanov, Executive Director of MTG – Dolphin. “Our designs are based on the modular design principle so that adaptation to all specific customer requirements to be possible,” he added.

The first of the new designs of MTG – Dolphin, the OPV-60, comes in two versions. In its lighter-armaments modification, the vessel is capable of performing tasks related to border control, patrol and escort, control of the refugee flows, search and rescue, protection of sea lines of communication and fishery control. On its deck, the OPV-60 carries a drone and a lighter helicopter, intended for providing the crew with information about the operational situation, as well as two boats of RHIB type.

The second modification of the 550-tonne ship is a solidly armed fast guided missile boat. For performing its combat missions, the vessel has four counter-ship missiles and one air defence complex. The artillery armaments of both versions include 40mm and 20mm weapons, as well as two machine gun installations.

The armament of the smaller LPV-35 is lighter. The ship is equipped with a 20mm weapon and two machine gun installations. However, it is completely capable of fulfilling tasks related to offshore protection, search and rescue, control of refugee flows. Deck drone and one boat assist the crew with the implementation of its missions.

The OPV-60 and LPV-35 designs have already had their Bulgarian premiere at the defence exhibition HEMUS 2018 in Plovdiv in May this year and were highly evaluated by the expert community in Bulgaria.

Read more: MTG Dolphin withdrew their offer for building of two patrol boats

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In addition to the two smaller ships, in Paris, MTG – Dolphin also demonstrated the updated design of its K-90 corvette, which features improved digital warfare capabilities.

With the two new designs the portfolio of military products of MTG – Dolphin already includes ships in the range from 150 to 1700 tonnes, including the 35-metre LPV-35, 60-metre OPV-60 and 90-metre K-90 corvette. However, the company does not think of stopping here. “On the grounds of our proven capabilities we are working on a design for a 40-metre multifunctional ship, capable of maintaining speed of over 32 knots and solving a broad range of tasks,” unveiled Svetlin Stoyanov.

About MTG – Dolphin

MTG – Dolphin is a Bulgarian shipyard with proven experience in design and manufacturing of specialized ships of high degree of integration, including combat and patrol vessels.

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Source: MTG-Dolphin