The Bangladesh Navy (BN) has received the last two of the four Shadhinota (Type C13B)-class corvettes it ordered from China in late 2015.
The two new 90m long ships, which have been named BNS Sangram (with pennant number F113) and BNS Prottasha (F114), were handed over to Bangladesh Navy on March 28 and arrived at the naval base in Chittagong on 27 April…
The ships, which are expected to enter service in the near future, are the third and fourth of the class. Both ships were built in Wuhan by China’s Wuchang Shipbuilding Industry Group, with Sangram being launched in February 2018 and Prottasha two months later.
These vessels follow the earlier launching of BNS Shadhinota (F111) and BNS Prottoy (F112), both of which were launched in Wuhan in late 2014 and entered service in March 2016.
However, images show that, unlike the first two ships of the class, the latest two appear to be equipped with a more advanced phased-array radar, which could be the SR2410C 3-D multifunctional radar, although there was no official confirmation.
The design of the Type C13B corvettes were based on that of China’s Type 056-class corvettes. The corvettes have a beam of 11 m, a draught of 4.4 m, a full-load displacement of 1,330 tons, and top speed of about 25 kt. Each of the ships has a complement of 78, including 60 crew and 18 officers.
The Type C13B class is fitted with a 76 mm H/PJ-26 main gun, two 30 mm H/PJ-17-1 Close-In Weapon Systems (CIWS), an eight-cell launcher for FL-3000N Surface-to-Air Missiles (SAM), four C-802A (YJ-83) surface-to-surface Anti-Ship Missiles (AShM), and a helipad.
Although the combat systems of the Type C13B are broadly similar to those of the Type 056, though the BN ships lack a sonar system and anti-submarine weapons thus won’t be able to carry out ASW missions.
The first two ships of the class, BNS Shadhinota (F111) was launched in November 2014 and BNS Prottoy (F112) was launched in January 2015. Both vessels were delivered in December 2015, sailed to Bangladesh in January 2016 and entered active duty in March of the same year.
An agreement was signed with China’s Ship Building and Offshore International Company Limited on September 29, 2015, to build the two corvettes for Bangladesh Navy. The construction of the two ships started with a steel cutting ceremony on August 09, 2016.
The warships sailed from Yantian port in China making a stop at the port of Kalang in Malaysia, and arrived at the Chittagong Naval Jetty after travelling 8,000 km.
Dhaka Tribune, Navy Recognition