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4 Minerva Class corvettes to join Bangladesh Coast Guard

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Somebody post the pic of Kamorta class

The Lungis need to understand what India Considers a Corvette

Maybe then they can stop bragging about their second hand Italian fishing Trauler
Dear Archie,

The first for the Italian navy's 8-ship Minerva class was commissioned 10 June 1987. That is about 2 years prior to the first of the four ship Indian navy Khukri class corvette, the first of which was commissioned 23 August 1989

So, at the time the Italians had already commissioned this:

Minerva_%28F_551%29.jpg


Type: Corvette
Displacement: 1,285 tonnes
Length: 87 m (285 ft)
Beam: 10.5 m (34 ft)
Draught: 3.2–4.8 m (10–16 ft)
Propulsion: 2 Diesel Grandi Motori Trieste BM-230.20 DVM outputting 11.000 hp (8.203 kW)
Speed: 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph)
Range: 3,500 nmi (6,500 km; 4,000 mi) at 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph)
Complement: 7 officers, 113 men
Sensors and
processing systems:
  • AA/ASu-Radar Selenia SPS-774 (RAN 10S) E/F Band
  • 1 SMA SPS-728 Navigation radar
  • Sonar: Raytheon/Elsag DE-1167
Electronic warfare
& decoys:
  • Fire control: 1 Selenia SPG-75 (RTN 30X) for Albatros and 76mm
  • Communication: IPN-10 (Mini-SADOC), Link 11
Armament:
  • 1 Otobreda 76 mm
  • Sea Sparrow or Selenia Aspide in an 8-cell launcher
  • 6 × 324mm TLS ASW torpedoes
  • 4 heavy machine guns

the Indians were commissioning this:
IMG1383_0.jpg

Type: Corvette
Displacement: Full load: 1,350 tonnes
Length: 91.1 m (299 ft)
Beam: 10.5 m (34 ft)
Draught: 4.5 m (15 ft)
Speed: 25 kn (46 km/h; 29 mph)
Range: 4,000 nmi (7,400 km; 4,600 mi) @ 16 kn (30 km/h; 18 mph)
Complement: 79 including 10 officers
Sensors and
processing systems:
  • MR-123 Fire control radar
  • 1 MR 352 Pozitiv-E air radar
  • 1 Garpun-Bal air/surface radar
  • 1 BEL 1245 navigation radar
Electronic warfare
& decoys:
  • 1 BEL Ajanta P Mk.II used in the ESM role
  • Decoy
  • 2 PK-10 chaff launchers
  • 1 NPOL designed towed torpedo decoy
Armament:
  • 2 × AK-630 CIWS
  • 1 × AK-176 76mm gun
  • 4 × P-20M missiles
  • 2 × SA-N-5 SAM launchers


As recent as 2013, the Italians delivered to the UAE two abu Dabi class corvettes, which are derivatives of the Commandante Folgosi class of the Italian navy
Abu_dhabi_ship.jpg


As compared to the INS Kamorta. commissioned 2014

CBE8bNtUQAA5cHE.jpg:large


Please look up under corvettes on the FIncantieri website

Costruzioni

They offer a "modular" light frigate / corvette concept called MOSAIC = Modular Open System Architecture Integrated Concept prosented in DSA 2008, Kuala Lumpur)
Fincantieri's+Warship+Modules.jpg

Source: KENYA NAVY AND POSSIBLE F-22P AND/OR AGOSTA ACQUISITION
And TRISHUL: March 2009

In sum, India has nothing on the Italians, really.

And as for coast guard ships, the Chinese recently sent an ex-navy frigate (Jiangwei 1 /
Type 053H2G
) turned Coast Guard ship towards disputed waters with Japan. Even that has little on the Minerva, if that the latter is 1000 smaller and not designed with hangar and flight deck.

Apple and oranges, thank you.

tbZwhPh.jpg


28851.jpg


This is what Damen of the Netherlands considers a corvette
Sigma-class Corvette ship 8313 of proven design
Sigma_Corvette.ashx
 
. . .
Somebody post the pic of Kamorta class

Is that what you call a "stealth" corvette? Sharkbait is what we call it. Big and slow. Here's a stealth corvette:

DSC_0633.jpg


KNM%20Skjold.jpg


20140120th_%2032559.jpg


20140120th_%2030973.jpg


20140120th_%2032104.jpg


20140120th_%2032367.jpg


20140120th_%2032315.jpg


nsm%20launch%20e3%20knm%20gnist%206.jpg


Displacement: 274 tonnes full load
Length:
  • 47.50 m (155.8 ft)
  • 14.3 m (47 ft) (Length on cushion)
Beam: 13.5 m (44 ft)
Draught: 1.0 m (3.3 ft)
Propulsion:
Speed:
  • In rough sea: ~52 mph
  • 45 knots
  • In calm sea: ~69+ mph
  • 60+ knots (classified)
Range: 920 miles at 46 mph, 800 nmi(1,500 km) at 40 knots (74 km/h)
Complement: 15–16
Sensors and
processing systems:
  • Thales MRR-3D-NG air/surface radar
  • Ceros 200 FC
  • CS-3701 electronic warfare suite
  • Sagem Vigy 20 electro-optical sensor
Armament:
Notes:

Fastest non-carrier, armed ships in the world.

...

Come on now, don't make fun of Bangladesh or I'll start making fun of you. Congratulate them instead, why be sour when you can be happy?

This isn't going to be a military vessel anyway, it's law enforcement, hence it's going to the Coast Guard and not the Bangladesh Navy. Why even compare it to Kamorta Class which is an IN ASW corvette? Totally different usage.
 
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1-jpg.285382


Completely demilitarized! What a waste of a perfectly good ship. I could see FL-3000N, C802, 76mm and 2x 30mm on this..

Why would you need C802 AShM on a coast guard vessel? Do any coast guard around the world arm their ships with AShM?

Somebody post the pic of Kamorta class

The Lungis need to understand what India Considers a Corvette

Maybe then they can stop bragging about their second hand Italian fishing Trauler

Comparing a coast guard opv to a anti sub corvette? Lol....well, couldn't really expect much?
 
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Why would you need C802 AShM on a coast guard vessel? Do any coast guard around the world arm their ships with AShM?

You could interprete my earlier post as a question 'why on earth would you use this as an OPV when it has far greater potential by design?'

It was designed mainly as anti-submarine warfare escort, with good anti-ship and anti-air self defence capability, intended to free up larger units for other work. It has not helicopter, hangar or deck, because it would operate near Italian bases and so work with landbased helicopters and MPAs. The only area in which is it deficient is antiship missile defences. Putting in Strales/Davide on the 76mm would help, as would a more modern surface to air missiles system e.g. ESSM, fired from the original 8-cell launcher, or 4 Mk41 single cell VLSs, or even just VL-SeaSparrow one or more Mk48/Mk56 VLUs.

Even in OPV role, with very light armaments, it would benefit greatly from extending the 0 deck all the way aft and create a helicopter-deck and perhaps even a small hangar for a pair of UAVs.
 
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You could interprete my earlier post as a question 'why on earth would you use this as an OPV when it has far greater potential by design?'

It was designed mainly as anti-submarine warfare escort, with good anti-ship and anti-air self defence capability, intended to free up larger units for other work. It has not helicopter, hangar or deck, because it would operate near Italian bases and so work with landbased helicopters and MPAs. The only area in which is it deficient is antiship missile defences. Putting in Strales/Davide on the 76mm would help, as would a more modern surface to air missiles system e.g. ESSM, fired from the original 8-cell launcher, or 4 Mk41 single cell VLSs, or even just VL-SeaSparrow one or more Mk48/Mk56 VLUs.

Even in OPV role, with very light armaments, it would benefit greatly from extending the 0 deck all the way aft and create a helicopter-deck and perhaps even a small hangar for a pair of UAVs.

Simply these were bought for the coast guard, a non military force that's used to police the lateral waters. Coast guard vessels don't need anti ship missiles, anti aircraft missiles or anti sub systems.

For what your talking about we have a navy that's being re-equipped, with LPCs, light corvettes, frigates etc.
 
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Simply these were bought for the coast guard, a non military force that's used to police the lateral waters. Coast guard vessels don't need anti ship missiles, anti aircraft missiles or anti sub systems.

For what your talking about we have a navy that's being re-equipped, with LPCs, light corvettes, frigates etc.
You don't have to explain to me what a navy and what a coast guard are or what they are for.

What I don't quite understand is why Bangladesh if it has the opportunity to acquires these used ships, does not put them to use with their navy. Which has been acquiring very lightly armed OPVs and then uparming them (e.g. Castle and Island classes). On the ex-RN, BN put 4x C-704 AShM, 1 x 76mm gun (automatic), 2 x Oerlikon 20 mm auto cannons.

Note that the Minerva's as delivered to Italian navy came with:
  • 1 Otobreda 76 mm
  • Sea Sparrow or Selenia Aspide in an 8-cell launcher
  • 6 × 324mm TLS ASW torpedoes
  • 4 heavy machine guns
AND (often forgotten)
  • Fitted for but not with 2x2 Otomat Mk.2 SSM (in the space between the foremast and the aftmast)
And these Minerva's are now DOWNarmed for coast guard work. That does not strike you as strange? To me it would make more sense putting Island and Castle to work as CG ships and getting a bunch of armed Minervas for the navy.

IN Minerva (BEFORE)
_minerva.jpg

AFTER
1-jpg.285382



OPV Castle (BEFORE)
95308.jpg

BNS Dhaleshwari (AFTER)
10209511575_e3b207cc08_o.jpg
 
Last edited:
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You don't have to explain to me what a navy and what a coast guard are or what they are for.

What I don't quite understand is why Bangladesh if it has the opportunity to acquires these used ships, does not put them to use with their navy. Which has been acquiring very lightly armed OPVs and then uparming them (e.g. Castle and Island classes). On the ex-RN, BN put 4x C-704 AShM, 1 x 76mm gun (automatic), 2 x Oerlikon 20 mm auto cannons.

Note that the Minerva's as delivered to Italian navy came with:
  • 1 Otobreda 76 mm
  • Sea Sparrow or Selenia Aspide in an 8-cell launcher
  • 6 × 324mm TLS ASW torpedoes
  • 4 heavy machine guns
AND (often forgotten)
  • Fitted for but not with 2x2 Otomat Mk.2 SSM (in the space between the foremast and the aftmast)
And these Minerva's are now DOWNarmed for coast guard work. That does not strike you as strange? To me it would make more sense putting Island and Castle to work as CG ships and getting a bunch of armed Minervas for the navy.

IN Minerva (BEFORE)
_minerva.jpg

AFTER
1-jpg.285382



OPV Castle (BEFORE)
95308.jpg

BNS Dhaleshwari (AFTER)
10209511575_e3b207cc08_o.jpg

The answer is quite simple, the navy and coast guard have separate budgets and when the castles were being negotiated, the minerva weren't being considered. Both the castle and the minerva are actually temporary stop-gap vessels until newer more capable vessels come online.

The castles are only expected to remain online for about 10-15 years and be replaced by the locally built Type 056 / LPCs. The minervas will be around for a while longer, until more dedicated patrol vessels are locally designed by the private yards (western marine is building a patrol vessel for kenya).
 
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The answer is quite simple, the navy and coast guard have separate budgets and when the castles were being negotiated, the minerva weren't being considered. Both the castle and the minerva are actually temporary stop-gap vessels until newer more capable vessels come online.

The castles are only expected to remain online for about 10-15 years and be replaced by the locally built Type 056 / LPCs. The minervas will be around for a while longer, until more dedicated patrol vessels are locally designed by the private yards (western marine is building a patrol vessel for kenya).

Yeah well, there were only 2 Castle class ships plus 6 smaller (barely armed) Island class ships, all OPVs.
From mid-1990s onwards, the Island class class has been gradually decommissioned from RN service and sold to BDN.
Originally due to transfer to the Pakistani Maritime Security Agency in 2007, the deal fell through and both ships of the Castle class were sold to BDN too. These were first commissioned around 1980. The Islands class go back to 1976
By comparison, a total of 8 Minerva's were built for the Italian navy. The first just decommed in 2015 and another will decom this year. Dating back to 1986-1990, these are relatively young ships.

Pay off the small, incapable Islands class ships and get some more Minervas and use them as real warships!

Turag090511b.jpg


Turag090511f.jpg
 
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Yeah well, there were only 2 Castle class ships plus 6 smaller (barely armed) Island class ships, all OPVs.
From mid-1990s onwards, the Island class class has been gradually decommissioned from RN service and sold to BDN.
Originally due to transfer to the Pakistani Maritime Security Agency in 2007, the deal fell through and both ships of the Castle class were sold to BDN too. These were first commissioned around 1980. The Islands class go back to 1976
By comparison, a total of 8 Minerva's were built for the Italian navy. The first just decommed in 2015 and another will decom this year. Dating back to 1986-1990, these are relatively young ships.

Pay off the small, incapable Islands class ships and get some more Minervas and use them as real warships!

Turag090511b.jpg


Turag090511f.jpg

Nah, better to get real warships like more Type 056 corvettes / Durjoy LPCs for lateral waters and Type 54As / Incheons etc for protection of the vital Singapore trade routes. As i said the Island / castles are stopgap vessels until we build the capacity of KSY to build our own ships.
 
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BN could easily hand over Island class ships to coast guard and acquire Minerva class corvettes for larger role of Ashw/Asw. But coast guard maybe has more job than navy such as chase bad guys fast and to have modern facilities to launch smaller boats. Last year it was shame they couldnt keep in check human smuggler pirate boats. Notably Island class and Minerva class both were used for sea policing or fishery protection. Where Minerva class has top speed and less range.
 
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