France to Produce 20 Modern Patrol Boats for Ukraine's Interior Ministry
(Source: Unian Information Agency; posted November 19, 2019)
France will manufacture and deliver by 2023 a total of 20 modern patrol boats, as reported by the press service of the Ministry of the Interior. The 32-meter boats are designed to protect the state border on water, carry out surveillance and monitoring and control missions, search and rescue and counter-sabotage operations.

According to Interior Minister Arsen Avakov, every fourth boat will be made in Ukraine. Tentative plans say the capacities will be hosted at one of the Mykolayiv-based shipyards. The agreement provides for Ukrainian additional equipment to be installed on the vessels.
The project costs EUR 136 million. Immediately, 15% of the total amount will be taken from the state budget and another 85% – through a special loan from the French Treasury at minimal rate.

The project also includes boat servicing, as well as training of 240 crew and 120 technical personnel. Ukraine will be able to get the first boat from the batch as early as 2021. As UNIAN reported earlier, the Russian Navy began military exercises in the Black Sea, in which more than ten naval vessels take part, as well as aviation.

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