The design of the patrol vessels and small combatant vessels has been evolving through time. The following factors are important drivers of the recent and current designs of vessels of this kind:rn1. The OPVs and small combatants programmes are conditioned by the specific needs of the different countries at the time when they decide the acquisition of new units. As with other naval vessels the time between replacements, up to now, has usually been between 20 and 30 years.
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