# Navantia to modernise two Angolan Navy patrol vessels

- Link: https://www.military.africa/2026/11/navantia-to-modernise-two-angolan-navy-patrol-vessels/
- Published: 2026-11-05T16:02:08+01:00
- Author: Military Africa

Spanish shipbuilder Navantia has signed a contract with [Angola](https://www.military.africa/tag/angola/)
to repair and modernise two Mandume-class patrol vessels of the Angolan Navy, the
company announced on 15 October 2026. The contract was signed with Simportex, the
Angolan state-owned company responsible for procurement for the Ministry of Defence,
and covers the Golfinho and Atlântico, built at the Spanish state-owned Empresa 
Nacional Bazán, now Navantia, in the early 1990s. Angola operates four Mandume-class
vessels.

The agreement was signed by Álvaro Lobo, Navantia’s Commercial Director for Africa,
and General Luís Manuel da Fonseca Sotto Maior Pizarro, President of Simportex, 
[Naval News reported](https://www.navalnews.com/?p=91937). Navantia said the modernisation
and repair work will take place at its San Fernando shipyard in Cádiz, the same 
yard that built the class. Neither side has disclosed the value of the contract 
or a timeline for the work.

![Angolan Navy Mandume-class patrol vessels Golfinho and Atlantico moored alongside](
https://www.military.africa/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/Angola-Mandume-Class.webp)

The Angolan Navy’s Mandume-class patrol vessels Golfinho and Atlântico, the two 
boats Navantia will modernise. (Image: Navantia via Naval News)

## Training and life-cycle support

“This order from the Angolan government marks another step forward in Navantia’s
international defence market for its Repairs and Services business area, particularly
in Africa, where commercial efforts are being made to support navies in modernizing
their existing ships,” the company said.

“In addition, the contract includes training for a number of officers of the Angolan
Navy in Spain, as well as two years of life-cycle support and knowledge transfer
to the Navy to enable the maintenance of the vessels in Angola.”

In February 2023, The Diplomat reported that Angola was considering a wider package
from Navantia comprising up to six new patrol vessels alongside the modernisation
of two of the four vessels Bazán supplied in the 1990s. However, Navantia sources
said at the time that the deal depended on financing. Only the modernisation element
has now been confirmed. Navantia’s main African customer in recent years has been
Morocco, for which it [delivered an Avante 1800 offshore patrol vessel](https://www.military.africa/2025/05/navantia-delivers-avante-1800-vessel-to-moroccan-navy/)
in 2025.

ADVERTISEMENT

## The Mandume class

The Mandume class, a derivative of Bazán’s Cormorán design, is 29 metres long and
displaces 112 tonnes at full load. The class is powered by two Paxman diesel engines
and has a top speed of 25 to 27 knots depending on the source, with a range of about
800 nautical miles at 15 knots and a crew of 11, according to [Navypedia](https://navypedia.org/ships/angola/ang_cf_mandume.htm).
The boats were originally fitted with a 20 mm cannon and two 12.7 mm machine guns;
armament now includes a machine gun on the bow, and a rigid-hulled inflatable boat(
RHIB) can be carried on the aft deck.

ADVERTISEMENT

The four boats are Mandume (P100) and Polar (P102), launched in September 1992, 
and Atlântico (P104) and Golfinho (P106), launched in February 1993. All were completed
at San Fernando in 1993, which makes the pair now returning to Spain more than 33
years old.

ADVERTISEMENT

![Navantia and Simportex officials signing the Angolan Navy patrol vessel modernisation
contract](https://www.military.africa/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/bairdmaritime2F2026-
10-162F0h6p5m802F68939587_5bcd_4ba9_8430_b7c278c64669.webp)

Navantia’s Commercial Director for Africa, Álvaro Lobo, and Simportex President 
General Luís Manuel da Fonseca Sotto Maior Pizarro sign the modernisation contract.(
Image: Navantia)

## A small navy rebuilding

Despite the overall size of the Angolan military, the Angolan Navy has remained 
very small, having been neglected for several decades. Since the 1990s, the force
has declined from approximately 4,200 active personnel to around 1,000 in the early
2010s. This has left Angola particularly vulnerable to maritime threats such as 
the spread of piracy in the Gulf of Guinea over the past 10 to 15 years. In response,
the Angolan government has embarked on a broad programme of naval revitalisation,
including the procurement of several smaller vessels and patrol craft.

The Navy is also expanding its capabilities through the acquisition of three BR71
Mk II corvettes from France’s Constructions Mécaniques de Normandie (CMN). Once 
delivered, these vessels will considerably extend the Navy’s reach and effectiveness,
particularly as Angola seeks to secure its offshore resources. The first of class,
NRA Ekuikui II, was [launched in France at the beginning of March](https://www.military.africa/2026/03/angolan-navy-br71-mkii-combattante-corvettes-launched-by-cmn-and-edge-group/)
this year and began sea trials in September ahead of delivery.

The corvettes form part of a €1 billion programme for three 71-metre ships designed
to strengthen Angola’s maritime defence and national security capabilities. The 
programme is delivered in cooperation with Abu Dhabi Ship Building (ADSB) under 
a transfer of technology (ToT) framework, and one of the three vessels is being 
built at ADSB’s shipyard in Abu Dhabi to support industrial cooperation and knowledge
transfer. That ship, NRA Nimi-ya-Lukeni, was [launched in Abu Dhabi this week](https://www.military.africa/2026/11/edge-launches-angolas-second-br71-mk-ii-corvette-in-abu-dhabi/),
and the corvettes will operate [HT-100 NAVAL unmanned helicopters](https://www.military.africa/2026/09/edge-delivers-ht-100-naval-uavs-to-angola-for-corvette-programme/)
delivered by EDGE in September.

Apart from the Mandume class, the Angolan fleet includes three CMN [HSI 32 interceptors](https://www.military.africa/2021/03/angolan-navys-hsi-32-interceptor-boat-breaks-cover/),
four Super Dvora Mk 3, three [Ocean Eagle 43 trimarans](https://www.military.africa/2022/11/angolan-navy-receives-ocean-eagle-trimaran-patrol-boat-from-french-cmn/),
five ARESA PVC-170 and two Namacurra-class patrol boats, two CMN [LCT 200-70 landing craft](https://www.military.africa/2023/03/cmn-launches-angolan-navys-tank-landing-craft/),
over a dozen fisheries patrol boats and a research vessel. CMN has also supplied
DV15 interceptors to Angola, and the Angolan Air Force flies [C295 maritime surveillance aircraft](https://www.military.africa/2026/10/airbus-pitches-angolas-new-c-295-as-africas-multirole-workhorse/)
over the same waters.

## Keeping Luanda’s inshore patrol force at sea

The corvettes will give Angola an ocean-going presence, but patrolling its long 
coastline, oil fields and the Congo River mouth still falls largely to small craft
like the Mandume class. Refitting two of the four boats is a cheaper way to keep
that inshore force at sea than buying new hulls, and the training and two years 
of support written into the contract are meant to let Angolan crews maintain them
at home afterwards. Whether Luanda follows with the new patrol vessels it discussed
with Navantia in 2023, or refits the other two Mandumes, will depend on the same
financing question that held the package back three years ago.

### _Related_