The Oaxaca class are offshore patrol vessels, constructed and designed by and for the Mexican Navy. The class is named after the Mexican state of Oaxaca. 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 of , and a beam of . They displace .

Primary armament is a single OTO Melara naval gun or Bofors 57 mm gun. They also mount a pair of OTO Melara remote controlled naval turret Mod. 517 with M2 machine guns, 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, 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 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.

For the 2008 fiscal year, the Mexican Congress 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 Ship nameHull no.LaunchedCommissioned P-16111 April 20031 May 2003P-16221 May 20031 April 2003ARM IndependenciaP-16323 July 20091 June 2010ARM RevolucionP-16423 November 200923 November 2010ARM ChiapasP-16518 November 201523 November 2016ARM HidalgoP-1669 August 201623 November 2017ARM JaliscoP-1672 July 201823 November 2018ARM TabascoP-16820 July 20191 June 2021

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