Sierra-class corvette

Four Sierra-class corvettes

The Sierra-class corvettes are corvettes of the Mexican Navy intended mainly for interception of drug smugglers, exclusive economic zone (EEZ) patrol, and countering terrorism. The class comprises four ships with the lead ship ARM SierraTemplate:Efn commissioned by the Mexican Navy in 1998. One ship, ARM Benito Juárez, was sunk as a target ship in 2007 after being wrecked by fire in 2003. The other three vessels remain in service.

Design and development

Originally, this project was designated Holzinger 2000 because it is a further development of the ships introduced in the early 1990s. The Sierra class has a different superstructure than the preceding Holzinger class. The Sierra class as built had a full load displacement of and measured long with a beam of Template:Cvt and a draught of Template:Cvt.Template:Sfn According to the Mexican Navy, the vessels have a length of , a beam of Template:Cvt, a draught of Template:Cvt and a normal displacement of Template:Cvt.Template:Sfn The corvettes are powered by two Caterpillar 3616 V16 diesel engines turning two shafts creating total.Template:Sfn This gave the vessels a speed of Template:Sfn or .Template:Sfn The vessels have two Template:Cvt and one Template:Cvt generators for power production.Template:Sfn

The Sierra class mount a Saab EOS 450 optronic director for fire control, and radars operating on the E/F and I-bands for navigation, surface and air search. They are equipped with the Alenia 2 combat data system. These ships have an aft flight deck and hangar for one MBB Bo 105C helicopter. The corvettes are armed with one Mk3 naval gun on the fore deck to engage air and surface targets. The 57 mm gun is capable of firing 220 rounds per minute to a distance of . Matias Romero alone is also equipped with an SA-N-10 surface-to-air missile with a range of . The ships carry an Template:Cvt interceptor craft capable of .Template:Sfn The corvettes have a complement of 75 including 10 officers.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

Construction and career

Four vessels were ordered by the Mexican Navy in 1997 from shipyards in Tampico and Salina Cruz.Template:Sfn The lead ship Justo Sierra Mendez (shortened to Sierra by the Mexican Navy) was commissioned on 1 June 1999 and the last, Guillermo Prieto (shortened to Prieto) on 17 September 1999.Template:SfnTemplate:Efn

On 24 October 2003 a fire broke out aboard Juárez while operating in the Gulf of Mexico. The fire quickly engulfed the ship, leading to the crew abandoning ship. The fire was brought under control with the aid of the Petróleos Mexicanos (PEMEX) tugboat Avila Karisma and the Mexican Navy vessels ARM Sierra, and while the crew were evacuated to Mexican naval facilities in Ciudad del Carmén, Campeche. To allow for the corvette to be towed, the heat on the deck had to be reduced. Instructed by a PEMEX specialist firefighter, the vessels coordinated their efforts and brought the temperature down enough for the PEMEX tugboat Adee Tide II to begin towing operations on 25 October and brought the vessel to Dos Bocas, Tabasco. Juárez was decommissioned and used as a target ship in July 2007.Template:Sfn

Ships in class

Sierra-class corvette construction dataTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn
Name	Hull number	Builder	Laid down	Launched	Commissioned	Status
(aka Justo Sierra Mendez)	PO 141 (ex-C 2001)	Tampico Shipyard, Tampico, Tamaulipas	19 January 1998	1 June 1998	1 June 1999Template:SfnTemplate:Efn	Active
(aka Benito Juárez)	PO 142 (ex-C 2002)	Salina Cruz Shipyard, Salina Cruz, Oaxaca	19 January 1998	23 July 1998	1 June 1999	Taken out of service after a fire incident in 2003. Sunk as a target ship in 2007.
(aka Guillermo Prieto)	PO 143 (ex-C 2003)	Tampico Shipyard, Tampico, Tamaulipas	1 June 1998	18 September 1999	18 September 1999Template:SfnTemplate:Efn	Active
(aka Matias Romero)	PO 144 (ex-C 2004)	Salina Cruz Shipyard, Salina Cruz, Oaxaca	23 July 1998	17 September 1999	17 September 1999Template:SfnTemplate:Efn	Active

Further reading

• Wertheim, E. (2007) Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World: Their Ships, Aircraft, and Systems. 15 edition. US Naval Institute Press.