Brunei Darussalam Navy New OPV Makes Maiden Voyage Home From Germany

The Royal Brunei Navy's (RBN's) fourth Darussalam (PV 80)-class offshore patrol vessel (OPV), KDB Daruttaqwa , began its maiden voyage on 15 July, sailing from Lemerder in Germany towards Brunei.

The 80 m vessel will join three other ships in class, KDB Darussalam , KDB Darulehsan , and KDB Darulaman at the RBN's Muara Naval Base, where it is expected to assume patrolling duties of the Brunei's coastal areas and offshore resource facilities. The Darussalam class is replacing the RBN's Waspada-class fast attack craft (FACs), which have been in service for more than 30 years.

Daruttaqwa has been described by the Brunei Ministry of Defence (MoD) as differing from its sister ships, carrying a 27 mm gun in place of the 20 mm gun found on earlier vessels in the class. The OPV will be able to carry one helicopter, one 10 m rigid hull inflatable boat (RHIB) in a stern ramp, and a 6 m RHIB deployed via a davit. The vessel has a top speed of 22 kt and is equipped with launchers for four Exocet MM 40 Block 3 anti-ship missiles.

At 'RIMPAC 2014', sister ships Darussalam and Darulaman conducted the RBN's first firing of Exocet anti-ship missiles during a sinking exercise (SINKEX) phase at the Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF), 80 n miles north of Kaua'i Island, Hawaii. The MoD has described the tests as proof of the Darussalam class's fighting capabilities, and a major milestone for the RBN.

Daruttaqwa is scheduled to make stopovers in Spain, Saudi Arabia, India, and Singapore during its 46-day journey. It is expected to arrive home on 30 August.

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