Launched this summer, the Mexican Navy patrol craft Democrata is the first of a new series intended to replace the 17 Auk and 11 Admirable class former U.S. Navy minesweepers still employed on offshore patrol duties. Unlike the sedate Auks and Admirables, however, the 400-ton Democrata and her sisters are intended to reach 30 knots, making them far more useful for combating the drug trade, smugglers, and poaching fishermen. The 172-foot overall by 29.5-foot beam Democrata is armed with a recycled twin Bofors 40-mm mount of U.S. origin and has a crew of 34. Also under construction in Mexico are the first two of a planned 20 "Holzinger-2000" class, 244-foot patrol ships whose design is based on that of a quartet of patrol ships completed in the early 1990s but will feature a superstructure reminiscent of that of the French La Fayette-class "stealth" frigates.
The Myanmar (Burma) Navy's Chinesebuilt Houxin-class guided missile patrol craft Maga, with sister Saittra in the background, is one of a half-dozen of the 478-ton craft delivered between early 1996 and late 1997. To date they have not been fitted with their intended complement of four C.801 (CSS-N-4 Sardine) antiship missiles; note the empty racks at the extreme stern. Other armament on the 203-foot craft includes two twin, automatic 37-mm Type 76A antiaircraft gunmounts (controlled by a "Rice Lamp" radar director) and two twin, manned 14.5-mm machine gun mounts. A copy of the 1950s Russian "Square Tie" radar is used for surface search and missile target designation. Powered by four 3,300-horsepower diesels, the Houxin class can reach 32 knots and has a range of 750 nautical miles at 18 knots. The basic design is an expansion of that of the 1960s Hainan-class antisubmarine patrol craft, of which Myanmar received ten used units from China from 1991 to 1994.
The Tan Chiang, first of 11 series-production Project Kuang Hua-III patrol craft for the Taiwanese Navy, just prior to launch on 18 June 1998. A second ship, the Hsin Chiang, followed on 14 August, and all 11 are planned to be in service by May 2000, joining the class prototype, the Jing Chiang, which was completed in December 1994. The 580-ton (full load), 201-foot craft normally will carry a single Bofors 40-mm gun, a 20-mm Type 75 cannon (adapted from an M-39 aircraft weapon), two machine guns, and two depth charge racks, but they also can be quickly equipped to lay mines or to mount four Hsiung Feng-I antiship missiles. Equipped for search and rescue and firefighting duties, the craft are powered by two MTU 16V1163 TB93 diesels; they can achieve a modest 25 knots but have an impressive range of 3,500 nautical miles at 15-knot patrol speeds. All are named for Taiwanese rivers.