With a maximum range of 3,700km the ships are incapable of patrolling the area to the South Pole
Docked at Durban is a sleek, long-lined grey patrol craft with a distinctive vertical prow, the cutting edge of SA’s other arms deal — one so untroubled by the sorts of scandals that rocked the 1999 strategic arms procurement package that it has sailed under the public’s radar.
The 750-tonne vessel may be overshadowed by her larger 3,700-tonne sister missile frigates at Simon’s Town, four of which were acquired — with three submarines — during that earlier court case-racked R30bn deal, but it is the first of at least three inshore patrol vessels (IPVs) designed for multiple roles in our coastal littoral waters...
