The HCS have announced that no fewer than 125 of their HCS OPV 08 will be produced and that work was now ongoing with regard to the specification. One type which will be replaced by this new ship will be the older Kalahati Tuuls which were once the backbone of the fleet but are now obsolete and coming towards the end of their lives.
The Super Kalahati Tuul (Kalahati Tuul S) upgrade programme has currently rebuilt 28 Kalahati Tuuls but this has now ended. A similar upgrade of Kalahati Tuul 2s is about to begin (the Kalahati Tuul 2N) but this will not be as large a programme and only 16 are expected to be upgraded. Withdrawals of life expired Kalahati Tuuls will begin next year with the whole fleet gone by the end of the decade (upgraded KT-Ss will remain in service until 2120). Kalahati Tuul 2 withdrawals are expected to start in 2108.
