Modern European Corvette Designs 2000 - 2030 (Part A

ModernModern EuropeanEuropean corvettecorvette designsdesigns 20002000 -- 20302030 (Part(Part A)A)

In the recent past, a large number of corvettes were in the inventories of European Navies but currently there are very few, with some being transitioned to offshore patrol vessels (OPV). However, European shipbuilders still build such warships for exports.The current analysis gives an overview of modern European corvette designs, ships that entered service from 2000 or are under construction. Note that there are no internationally recognised standards for the way warships are classified and there is enormous variation in size between vessels that have the same classification, even within NATO.

In this article we consider corvettes as the smallest credible surface combatants, ships bigger and more capable than fast-attack missile craft (FACM) but smaller and cheaper than frigates.They are capable of defending adequately against both surface and air threats, and operate as light frigates and light escorts by being the least capable ocean-going warships. Nevertheless, modern corvettes are capable of full 4-dimensional warfare and of transoceanic duty.The (numerous) Russian corvette designs are excluded from our analysis.

SPANISH DESIGNS

Avante 2200 Patrol, Venezuela The Spanish shipbuilder Navantia has developed the Avante family of ships that includes fast-attack missile craft (FACM), offshore patrol vessels (OPV), corvettes and frigates. TheVenezuelan Navy (Bolivarian Armada of Venezuela) has acquired the Guaiqueri Class, a class of four modern OPV featuring stealth technology.The designation is Avante 2200 and often is reported as POVZEE from the Spanish Patrullero Oceánico deVigilancia de la Zona Económica Exclusiva.

The vessels, Guaiquerí,Warao,Yekuana and Kariña,were built in Navantia shipyard in Cadiz in the period 2008-2010 and commissioned by 2012.They were designed with provision to become corvettes but the installation of their major weapon systems never materialised. The general characteristics of the class are a displacement of about 2,450t, length of 99m and a speed of 24kt,while the range is 3,500nm at 18kt.The crew totals 60 personnel but the vessel can accommodate a further 32.The ships carry two rigid-hulled inflatable boats (RHIB) and are equipped with a helideck and a hangar to accommodate a medium size (10t) helicopter.

The class is currently armed with the Leonardo OTO Super Rapid (SR) 3in (76.2mm/62cal) gun forward of the bridge. The armament completes a Rheinmetall Oerlikon MILLENIUM GUN 35mm Close-In Weapon System (CIWS) above the hangar, heavy machine guns and sextuple Mk137 SRBOC decoy launching systems (DLS). There is provision for future installations of missile systems and torpedo launchers.The ship can receive behind the gun an 8-cell vertical launching system (VLS) for surface-to-air missiles (SAM) such as MBDAVL MICA.Amidships there is space for two quad launchers for surface-to-surface missiles (SSM) such as MBDA EXOCET.There are also hatches for B515/3 or Mk32 trainable triple torpedo launching systems.The electronic equipment includes Thales SMART-S Mk2 surveillance and target designation 3D radar,Thales STING-EO Mk2 fire control radar (FCR) and electro-optical system (EOS),Thales MIRADOR EOS-FCS,Thales SCOUT Mk2 Low Probability of Intercept (LPI) radar,ThalesVIGILE 100 Radar Electronic Support Measures (R-ESM) system and Thales ALTESSE Communications ESM (C-ESM) and Communications Intelligence (COMINT) antenna.The combat management system (CMS) is Thales TACTICOS.

On 3 August 2012, Warao grounded on a reef off Fortaleza, Brazil when arriving for the joint exercise “VenBras-2012” with the Brazilian Navy. Since then, the ship is out of service.

Avante 2200 Combatant, Saudi Arabia In July 2018 it was announced that Navantia had signed an agreement with the Royal Saudi Navy for the construction of five Avante 2200 corvettes in Spain with the last vessel to be delivered to Saudi Arabia by 2024. The first corvette, Al Jubail, was launched in July 2020.The names of the rest of ships are Al Diriyah, Hail, Jazan and Unaizah.The ships in theAl Jubail Class have a length of 104m,a beam of 14 and will be able to accommodate a total of 102 people including crew and passengers. The maximum speed is 27kt.A hangar and helicopter flight deck can accommodate a 10tonnes class helicopter such as the MH60R. Each ship carries two RHIB.

Navantia is incorporating its own products on the designs, such as the CATIZ CMS, the NAVCOMS Integrated Communications Systems (ICS) and HERMESYS full-Internet Protocol (IP) Integrated Communications Control System (ICCS), the DORNA Mod 3A FCR for the gun control, the COMPLEXSIMPLEX Integrated Platform Management System (IPMS) and the MINERVA Integrated Navigation and Bridge System (INBS), together with other equipment developed by Navantia under license, such as the MTU Engines and the RENK Reduction Gearboxes.The rest of the electronic equipment includes Hensoldt' s TRS-4D MFR, a Thales CAPTAS-2Variable Depth Sonar (VDS),Indra RIGEL R-ESM/R-ECM electronic warfare (EW) suite,Indra REGULUS C-ESM/COMINT antenna,Hensoldt SHARPEYE navigation/surveillance radars and various EOS.

The class is armed with the Leonardo OTO 3in SR naval gun in a stealth cupola forward of the bridge. Behind of it, there is a 16-cell VLS for MBDAVL MICA NG SAM.The rest of the armament includes a Rheinmetall Oerlikon MILLENIUM GUN 35mm CIWS above the hangar, two triple torpedo launching systems, two quad MBDA EXOCET MM40 Block3C SSM launchers, two RWS and DLS.

TURKISH DESIGNS

Ada Class, Turkey The MILGEM project (Turkish: Milli Gemi, means National Ship), is a Turkish national warship programme with the aim to design and build locally a fleet of modern multipurpose corvettes and frigates.Through this ambitious programme,Turkey seeks replace older classes in service, to improve national military shipbuilding capacity and skills and ultimately to achieve independence from foreign weapon producers, designers and manufacturers. The lead ship of the Ada-class corvettes, Heybeliada, was launched at the TNFC’ s Istanbul Naval Shipyard September 27, 2008. The ship entered service on September 27,2011. The second vessel Büyükada was commissioned in September 2013.The third ship Burgazada joined the Navy November of 2018.The fourth and last ship in the class Kilaniada entered service in September 29, 2019.

The ships displace 2,400 tonnes at full load, have a length of 99.5m, beam of 14.4m, maximum speed of +29kt and a range of 3,500nm at 15kt.The crew is 93 people while there is accommodation for 106 passengers in total.The ships carry one S-70 Seahawk and a UAV in the hangar. Each corvette carries two RHIB; the one with its davit is located at port side of the ship while the second is located over the steering gear room with a boat ramp at the stern.

Each ship is equipped with a Leonardo OTO 76mm/62cal SR gun fitted with a stealth cupola and located on the bow deck and with two Aselsan Stabilized Machine Gun Platforms (STAMP) 12.7mm remote weapon stations (RWS) and the Raytheon RAM Mk31 Guided Missile Weapon System (GMWS) that consists of the missile RIM-116 RollingAirframe Missile (RAM) SAM and the Mk49 Guided Missile Launching System (GMLS) MK-49 installed atop the helicopter hangar with 21 RAM. Each corvette is armed with eight Boeing RGM-84L HARPOON SSM in two quad launchers amidships.The last corvette in the class is equipped with the indigenous Roketsan ATMACA SSM and perhaps in the future the rest of the ships will be retrofitted with the new missile.ForAnti-SubmarineWarfare (ASW) the ships are equipped with two twin Mk32 Mod 9 324mm torpedo launchers in fixed positions for Mk46 or Mk54 lightweight (LWT) torpedoes.The DLS is the BAE Systems Mk36 Super Rapid Bloom Offboard Countermeasures (SRBOC).The first two corvettes of the class are equipped with the British Ultra Electronics SEA SENTOR Surface Ship Torpedo Defence (SSTD) system but from the third ship and after, the system is replaced by the indigenous and more advanced Aselsan HIZIR.

The electronic equipment includes a SMART-S Mk2 naval 3D multibeam air and surface surveillance radar which is manufactured locally by Aselsan under license and a Thales STING-EO Mk2 FCR. From the third ship and after, the STING has been replaced by the newer STIR 1.2 EO FCR.The corvettes are equipped with two Sperry Marine VISIONMASTER FT navigation radars and an Aselsan ALPER LPI radar.Aselsan provides also the Laser Warning Receiver named LIS, the ARES-2N R-ESM, the SATCOM antennas, the ASELFLIR-300T EOS (first two vessels) and the SeaEye AHTAPOT EOS (last two vessels).

The ships are equipped with the indigenous hull mounted sonar (HMS) TBT-01Yakamoz and theYaltes UNIMACS 3000 IPMS.Also, the ships have a nationally developed networkcentric CMS, the GENESIS.The Roketsan- and Havelsan-built ADVENT ship CMS, an upgraded version of GENESIS, equips the last ship in the class, Kinaliada and will be retrofitted also

Ada-class corvetteTCG Buyukada.

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to Burgazada.

Babour Class, Pakistan In July 2018, a contract was signed between Turkey and Pakistan for the construction of four MILGEM-class vessels based on Turkish Ada-class design but much larger.The keel laying for this first corvette, Babur, took place on June 4, 2020 and was launched on August 15, 2021 at Istanbul Naval Shipyard in Turkey. It is expected to be delivered to Pakistan Navy in 2023.The last ship will be handed over in 2025.The two vessels are being constructed at Istanbul Naval Shipyard whereas the remaining two at Karachi Shipyard and Engineering (KS&EW) in Pakistan.The fourth and vessel was laid down on November 5,2021 at KS&EW.

Guaiqueri-class (Avante 2200) OPV. Indonesian Navy BungTomo-class corvette KRI John Lie.

Both ships that were constructed in Turkey will be taken to Pakistan for completion. The contract has provisions for transfer of design rights and construction know-how fromTurkey to Pakistan.With the PN-MILGEM Project, Pakistan will gain the ability to design and build its indigenous warship with the support of Turkish engineers.The new design ships that will be built as a continuation of the PN-MILGEM Project are classified as Jinnah-class frigates.The Jinnah-class frigate, which might be based on Babur Class, will be built locally and will be larger and more capable warships.

The Baburs have a displacement of 3,000 tonnes while the length exceeds the 108m.Their speed will approach the 31kt. It is expected that the Pakistani corvettes will be armed with the MBDAALBATROS NG Naval BasedAir Defence (NBAD) system capable of providing defence against the evolving airborne threats at ranges exceeding 40km.The system uses the Extended Range (ER) variant of CommonAnti-air Modular Missile (CAMM) SAM. Each ship will carry twelve CAMM according to the graphs released. The armament includes two triple launchers for HARBAH SSM/LACM or a newer missile under development, Leonardo OTO 76mm SR gun, two twin 324mm torpedo launchers, two Aselsan STOP 25mm RWS,Aselsan GOKDENIZ dual barreled 35mm CIWS, Aselsan HIZIR SSTD and DLS.Aselsan will provide also the majority of the electronic equipment such as radars,ARES-2 and AREAS-2 R-ESM and R-ECM respectively, SATCOM, FCR, EOS, laser warning system and others.The CMS will be the ADVENT. The Platform Data Link Terminal (PDLT) will provide the two-way communication between the ship and the SAM.The ships will be able to accommodate a 10-tonnes helicopter in their hangar and two RHIB in davits.

Not defined yet class, Ukraine Turkey and Ukraine signed military cooperation agreements in 2020 with the aim to boost the bilateral relationship to the strategic partner level.Among others, a memorandum was signed with Turkey ’ s Defense Industries Presidency (SSB) to produce modified Ada-class corvettes for the Ukrainian Navy.The vessels will be built for the Ukrainian Navy using Turkish technologies at the Okean shipyard in the Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv.The construction of the first ship began in April 2021.Turkey ’ s RMK Marine Shipyard laid the keel of first corvette in Istanbul on September 7, 2021. The ship will be delivered to Ukraine by the end of 2023 for fitting out and it is expected to become fully operational in 2025. The corvettes will be outfitted with Boeing RGM-84 HARPOON SSM, eight MBDAVL MICA NG SAM, a Leonardo OTO 76mm SR gun, two twin 324 mm torpedo launchers, a Rheinmetall Oerlikon MILLENIUM GUN 35mm orAselsan Gökdeniz (naval version of Korkut-D) dual barreled 35mm will be the CIWS, and Asesan STAMP 12.7 mm RWS.The CMS and IPMS will be supplied by the Turkish Havelsan andYaltes. Similarly to Babur Class,Aselsan will provide the majority of the electronic equipment such as the SMART-S Mk2 radar, R-ESM and R-ECM which will be ARES-2N v.2 and AREAS-2NC respectively, SATCOM, FCR, EOS, laser warning system and others.

BRITISH DESIGNS

Bung Tomo Class, Indonesia Before the export success of Type 26 frigate, British shipbuilding sector mainly focused at modernising ex-Royal Navy ’ s units sold abroad and the promotion of different corvette designs to various countries, especially in Middle East and South EastAsia.Indonesia currently operates three British-built Bung Tomo-class corvettes originally ordered by Brunei.The ships were launched in 2001 and 2002 by BAE Systems, but Brunei refused to accept them.The ships were finally handed over to Brunei in 2007 which looked to sell them. Indonesia expressed interest in 2012 and they were commissioned with the Indonesian Navy in 2014.

The general characteristics of BungTomo,John Lie and Usman Harun, are a displacement of 1,940t, length of 90m,beam of 12.8m,draught of 3.6m, maximum speed of 30kt and range of 5,000nm at 12kt.They have a crew of 79 and there is room for another 24 people.The ships have flight deck but no hangar and carry a Eurocopter AS565 Panther helicopter.The electronic equipment includes Ultra Electronics/Radamec 2500 EOS,Thales TMS 4130C1 HMS, BAE SystemsAWS-9 3D air and surface surveillance radar, two BAE Systems 1802SW FCR, Kelvin Hughes Type 1007 navigation radar,Thales SCOUT LPI radar,Thales CUTLASS 242 R-ESM,Thales SCORPION R-ECM and C-ESM/COMINT antenna on the main mast.

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Royal Navy of Oman Khareef-class corvette Al Rasikh.

Ada-class corvetteTCG Kinaliada.

Al Jubail Avante 2200 corvette of the Royal Saudi Navy.

The ships are armed with a Leonardo OTO 76mm gun and eight MBDA EXOCET MM40 Block II SSM. Until 2019 they had space for 16 MBDA GWS-26 Sea Wolf SAM, but it was decided to replace them withVL MICA. Further, there are two MSI-Defence DS30B REMSIG 30mm RWS, two Mk32 triple torpedo launchers for LWT ASW torpedoes and two Wallop/Esterline SUPER BARRICADE DLS.

In March 2020, Indonesia launched the mid-life upgrade (MLU) of the ships in collaboration with PT Len and Thales. The programme includes Thales TACTICOS CMS, SMART-S Mk2 3D radar, STIR 1.2 EO Mk2 FCR,VIGILE Mk2 R-ESM and new tactical data links (TDL). Existing weaponry will also be fully integrated and as mentioned earlier VL MICA SAM launchers will be installed.

Khareef Class, Oman The Royal Navy of Oman has in service five British-made multirole corvettes, two Qahir Class and three Khareef Class, which were commissioned in 1996-97 and 2013-14 respectively.The three Khareef-class corvettes, Al-Shamikh,Al-Rahmani and Al-Rasikh, were built by BAE Systems and their main characteristics are a displacement of 2,660t, length of 99m, beam of 14.6m, draught of 4.1m, speed over 25kt and range of 4,500nm at cruising speed.The ship has a crew of 100 officers and sailors, while the flight deck can support a medium sized helicopter such as Westland Super Lynx Mk.120. Each vessel carries two RHIB.

The ships are armed with the Leonardo OTO 76mm gun and four MBDA EXOCET MM40 Block III SSM. Moreover, they have 12 VL MICAVL SAM, two MSI-Defence DS30M 30mm RWS and two Rheinmetall Multi Ammunition Softkill System (MASS) DLS. The electronic equipment includes the Thales TACTICOS CMS,Thales SMART-S Mk2 3D radar and STIR 1.2 EO Mk2 FCR,Vigile 400 R-ESM, two Chess Dynamics SEA EAGLE EOS, navigation radars and various TDLs. HTMS Prachuap Khiri Khan, Thailand RoyalThai Navy commissioned HTMS Prachuap Khiri Khan in 2019, a modified River-class OPV, the second in service with the Navy but different than the older vessel HTMS Krabi, as it is equipped with heavier armament and more advanced electronics, and has the potential to become an actual corvette. It is armed with a Leonardo OTO 76mm gun,four Boeing RGM-84 HARPOON SSM, two MSI-Defence DS30M 30mm RWS and SRBOC DLS.The ship has a displacement of 2,000t, length of 90.5m, beam of 13.5m, draught of 3.5m, speed of 25kn and a range of 3.500nm at 15kt.The crew consists of 39 officers and sailors.The ship has flight deck for a helicopter and carries two RHIB.The electronic equipment includes ThalesVARIANT air and surface surveillance radar with integrated SCOUT LPI radar, SHARPEYE navigation radars and Thales STING FCR.

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SWEDISH DESIGNS

Visby Class, Sweden The Swedish Navy possesses fiveVisby-class corvettes, Visby, Helsingborg, Härnösand, Nyköping and Karlstand, commissioned between 2002 and 2015.The option on a sixth vessel, Uddevalla, was cancelled.These all-composite carbon-fibre hull and superstructure hi-tech ships are able to cover a wide range of roles and are well-known for their stealth design. The majority of the weapons and sensors are mounted internally, are hoistable or retractable, or are hidden behind hatches.The use of Genuine Holistic Stealth (GHOST) technology minimises significantly the optical and infrared signature,above water acoustic and hydroacoustic signature, underwater electrical potential and magnetic signature, pressure signature, radar cross section and actively emitted signals. The general characteristics of the class are a displacement of 650t at full load,length of 72.7m, beam of 10.4m, draught of 2.4m, speed at full displacement +35kt and range of about 2,500nm at 15kt.The ships have a crew of 43 officers and sailors while there is a flight deck for an AgustaWestland A109M helicopter and/or UAV. They are equipped with a dual role Bofors 57mm/70cal Mk3 naval gun in a specially designed stealthy cupola, machine guns and eight Saab RBS15 Mk2 (Mk4 in the future) SSM while they have four single torpedoes tubes for Saab LWT torpedoes. Furthermore, they carry mines and depth charges.Visby vessels were not initially fitted with aVLS for SAM,despite the provision for it,but could later be equipped on. They can also carry various remotely operated vehicles (ROV) for mine hunting and disposal.

The electronic equipment includes Saab 9LV Mk3E CETRIS CMS, Saab SEA GIRAFFE AMB 3D surveillance radar, Saab CEROS 200 FCR, L3Harris CS-3701 R-ESM, navigation radar and a fully integrated HYDRA sonar suite. The HYDRA consists of a Hydroscience Technologies passive towed array sonar (TAS), a C-Tech CVDS-26VDS and a C-Tech CHMS-90 HMS. In January 2021 Saab and the Swedish Defense MaterielAdministration (FMV) signed two agreements for an MLU of theVisbys as well as the product definition phase for the next generationVisby Generation II corvettes.

Visby-class corvette.