USS Winston S. Churchill conducts passing exercises with Tunisian Navy

The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG 81) executed a passing exercise (PASSEX) with Tunisian naval counterparts in the Mediterranean Sea on Aug. 22, the U.S. navy announced recently.

Winston S. Churchill conducted the exercise off the coast of northern Africa with Tunisian Navy ships Multi Service Offshore Patrol Vessel 1400 (MSOPV 1400) Hanon (612) and Type-143 class FAC Hasdrubal (509).

U.S. Navy vessels routinely conduct training with allies and partners in order to enhance interoperability and increase capacity in order to strengthen the regional maritime security.

Winston S. Churchill departed Norfolk, Virginia, Aug. 10 for a regularly-scheduled deployment to maintain maritime stability and security and ensure access, deter aggression, and defend U.S., allied and partner interest around the globe.

Type 143 Albatros-class fast attack craft:

The Type 143 Albatros class was a German class of missile bearing Fast Attack Craft. Tunisian Navy operates 5 Albatros-class FAC which it procured from German Navy on 2005.

The class was armed with two OTO-Melara 76 mm guns for anti-ship and anti-air warfare. They were placed in single mounts fore and aft. The vessels were also armed with four MM38 Exocet anti-ship missiles situated in two dual mounts aft but forward of the rear 76 mm gun. The class was also equipped with two 533 mm (21 in) torpedo tubes that fired Seal wire-guided torpedoes. The tubes were aft-launching.

The class is equipped with SMA 3 RM 20 navigational radar and WM27 surface search and fire-control radar. For countermeasures, they are provided with a Buck-Wegmann Hot Dog decoy launcher and a DAG 2200 Wolke chaff launcher.

Multi Service Offshore Patrol Vessel 1400 (MSOPV 1400) :

The MSOPV 1400s have a length of 72 metres, a beam of 12.7 metres and a draft of 3.75 metres. The vessels displace approximately 1 284 tonnes and are powered by two Caterpillar engines delivering a total of 7 060 kW, giving a top speed of 20 knots.

The MSOPV is Damen’s second generation offshore patrol vessel design and incorporates Damen’s Sea Axe hull shape for superior seakeeping – the new OPV is fuel efficient and capable of speeds up to 25/26 knots.

A Multi-Mission Bay can be equipped with dedicated mission modules and a nine-metre RHIB (rigid-hulled inflatable boat), which can be launched over a dedicated slipway through the rear of the vessel while the OPV is sailing. The Multi-Mission Hangar is capable of storing a helicopter and an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).

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