NRP Bartolomeu Dias (F 333), the first of two Portuguese Navy M frigates, has returned home from a mid-life upgrade in the Netherlands.
The ship arrived at the Lisbon naval base on October 25, over three years after arriving in the Netherlands for the upgrade in May 2018. The update project had initially been expected to be completed by 2020.
The second ship in the class, NRP D Francisco de Almeida (F 334) remains in the Netherlands for the same upgrade, which is scheduled to be completed next year.
Responsible for the overhauls is Dutch shipbuilder Damen, who originally built the two ships for the Royal Netherlands Navy in 1994.
Portugal bought the two ships in 209 and is now upgrading them to extend their service lives until 2035. The modernization program will also equip the ships with capabilities to support the continued participation in higher-intensity national and multinational operations. It follows the path set by the Dutch and Belgian navies for their M-frigate modernizations.
Upgrades for the two ships are related to weapons, sensor and communication systems, while work is also undertaken on propulsion and power distribution.
