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Bangladesh Navy

So what would be the modern OPV equivalent of the Island class? The 1500 ton Korean OPV above would be a bit small then? What about the INS SARYU class?


I don't know if the Durjoy class vessels can maintain 28 knots or if that high-speed patrol quality is critical for BCG or BN. IMHO River class cannot even do 20 knots in any case. If you have a certain patrolling pattern I'd surmise you'd need Offshore, midshore and deep sea OPV craft. I'm guessing Durjoy-class ships and Type 056 corvettes can do the deep sea component but what about midshore patrol? This is why I was mentioning the Damen Stan high-speed patrol vessels (4208 and 4708 at 42 and 47 metres respectively). These modern designs can do 28 knots and have endurances of 8-14 days. The examples for the UK (Her Majesty's Customs) and Mexican Coast Guards are more or less moderately well-armed. The reason I keep bringing these designs up is because these mid-shore (medium endurance) designs in larger numbers (like you say) will supplement BN EEZ patrol coverage nicely because they can do 28 knots, they have RIB carrying and launching capability and they are easily built cheaply and locally at Western Marine or Ananda with Damen's help, just like Damen builds them in 40 other locations around the world (Vietnam is their new Asian building hub for these designs). They have been universally adopted for mid-range patrol in countries as diverse as Barbados, US (sentinel class), UK, South Africa, Vietnam as well as every country in South America). I enclose images of the Mexican+ UK Coast Guard adaptations with armament options, In November 2013 the Mexican Navy (Secretaría de Marina) and Damen Shipyards Group (the Netherlands) signed another contract for a Damen Stan Patrol 4207. The Mexican Navy already operates two similar Patrol Vessels and has currently two ships under construction in their shipyard ‘Astillero de Marina Numero 1’ in Tampico, which is situated on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico.

The vessel is the fifth one of the Tenochtitlan-class and will be constructed by the Mexican Navy, while Damen will supply a partial material package and technical assistance.

The steel for the hull and part of the piping will be acquired by the Mexican Navy. Keel laying is expected to be early 2014. The vessel will be named ‘Uxmal’, after an ancient Mayan city on the Yucatan peninsula.

This project is another example of how Damen, through its ‘building on site’ programme (i.e. Damen Technical Cooperation), enables customers to build high quality vessels in their own yards, gaining experience and being able to contribute to the development of the local shipbuilding industry. This concept has proven to be successful over thirty years in five continents in different market segments.


I don't know if you'll agree but an instantaneous RIB launch facility is important in my opinion.



Agreed on the deep-sea patrolling option with Durjoy class by BN. We have two but we should have several more in the pipeline for fisheries and oil exploration zone patrolling. Our neighbours will be stealing our fish blind if we don't protect our fishery areas. And a large part of those zones are IMHO closer to shore where these midshore designs are needed.



Interesting why they kept the name the same with Yunshuji 12E for old and Yunshuji 12F for new. They are two totally different designs now.



Do-228NG uses five blade props but the same Garrett TPE-331 series turboprop engine. Y-12F uses PT-6 turboprops. Do-228NG costs 12 million. Don't know about Y-12F. We should also consider CN-235 as it is partially built by a friendly Muslim country, Indonesia.

great post!! :)

first of all, I'm not really sure whether BN is looking to get any dedicated single-role OPV right now.... as priorities are now for missile-armed ships for deep sea patrol (including patrol around St Martin's Island)..... now-a-days the St Martin's area is almost always guarded by a naval vessel.... but the protection of deep sea fisheries is another thing altogether..... I believe it has to be a combination of higher number of OPVs and air patrol.... as single-role ships are not being looked for right now, I'm not going into that discussion.... I believe there simply isn't enough money available to fund two types of ships....

secondly, about speed..... well, BN seems to be pretty happy with 25kt ships.... probably thats because of the perceived threat in the Bay of Bengal.... a ship capable of going into the deep sea is rarely going to be a high-speed 30kt+ ship (unless you're looking to encounter a really powerful country).... for fisheries patrol, 25kt is more than enough actually.... and in many cases a 20kt ship should outrun any pirate ship.... and in case, you've got the gun to fill the gap.... :) ..... Island-class, Castle-class and River-class - all are slow ships.... but their wartime roles are likely to suit their speed... these are not ships for battle group actions, rather for escort duties (remember that important, but less-than-glorious role?).....

thirdly, about range..... actually it should be coastal and offshore duties which should be the two specific roles..... for coastal duties, there are the two Meghna-class, five Padma-class, four Chamsuri-class, BNS Barkat, BNS Salam, two Kraljevica-class (until they're replaced), along with the River-class.... all these ships have enough range to patrol closer to shore..... the four Shanghai-II-class along with the dozen patrol crafts of BCG are likely to fill the inshore-coastal gap.... this area is the most sensitive, as a huge number of small fishing trawlers/boats operate in this range and get intercepted by pirates.... the inshore-coastal areas (e.g. south of Fairway Buoy area and just off the Ctg Port outer anchorage are) are also supported by BCG HSBs and BN SWADS special boat squadron.... so, speed isn't an issue here.... the patrol crafts are also armed with fast boats, though not with instant release mechanism.... the deeper you go into the sea, the number of ships decrease, thereby the number of patrol ships also decrease.... but finding a fishing trawler in deep sea is like searching a needle in a haystack....

and about INS Saryu..... these ships are specifically designed for longer range escort duties.... Indian coastline is very long.... their coastal shipping needs to be protected by ships of much longer range.... and the ships are large enough to accommodate lots of weapons and sensors when needed.... USCG ships are also like that...... big country; big sea; big ships.... :) affordable ships for a large navy though.... but for us.... well.... as I said.... single role..... :)
 
The sentinel class image is being re-posted here. With so many adoptions worldwide its no wonder this is the ideal mid-range mid-shore patrol vessel.

SHIP_CGC_Sentinel_Class_Cutaway_lg_zpsee2e4c2d.gif


Thanks for your comments.

finding a fishing trawler in deep sea is like searching a needle in a haystack...

Well we've hopefully got MPA aircraft that can find those needles (not only low value ones but high value military targets as well).

In hindsight - even if we cannot afford Lockheed p-3 Orions or Boeing p-8 MPAs - we should still have some type of long range naval patrol capability (maybe Y-8 as @aliaselin mentioned) to assist Navy and BCG vessels to pinpoint fisheries violators as well as EEZ poachers of all kinds. Y-8 being a four turboprop craft has far longer endurance than Y-12F. This can actually perform dual roles for MPA and ASW roles.

Y-8GX6+four-engine+turboprop+anti-submarine+and+maritime+surveillance+aircraft+Chinese+P-3C+People's+Liberation+Army+Navy+(PLA+export+pakitan+naval+mines+t+torpedoes+Active+passive+Sonobuoys+anti-sh+(1).jpg

Y-8GX6+four-engine+turboprop+anti-submarine+and+maritime+surveillance+aircraft+Chinese+P-3C+People's+Liberation+Army+Navy+(PLA+export+pakitan+naval+mines+t+torpedoes+Active+passive+Sonobuoys+anti-sh+(1).jpg


By the way the green hatch is an opening for the 'bomb bay' to drop sonobuoys. The long tail is a Magnetic Anomaly Detection (MAD) tail (basically a really large long-range metal detector).


Source: Bangladesh Navy | Page 116
 
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Is it possible to use UAV's like TAI Anka for sea patrol, to look for pirates and foreign shipping trawlers engaged in unauthorized shipping?


TAI Anka - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Anka can stay in flight for 18-24 hours at a stretch. It might be cheaper to use a team of Anka's to patrol the EEZ from the sky, mainly in good weather. They could use the air base in Cox's Bazar as the main center, while Navy ships in mid-sea could be used as forward remote control centers, as the radius for control is around 124 miles.

The cost per plane is $5-8 million.

"A TUAV system consists of three air vehicles (A/V), Ground Control Station (GCS), Ground Data Terminal (GDT), Automatic Take-off and Landing System (ATOLS), Transportable Image Exploitation System (TIES), Remote Video Terminal (RVT) and various Ground Support Equipment (GSE).

The TUAV system, which is designed for night and day missions including adverse weather conditions, performs real time image intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, moving/stationery target detection, recognition, identification and tracking missions.[2]

While the TIHA system has an open architecture to support other potential payloads and missions, within the context of the existing project the air vehicle is configured to carry the following payloads onboard:[3]
  • Electro-optic Color Day Camera (EO Day TV)
  • Electro-optic/Forward Looking Infrared/Laser Range Finder/Laser Designator and Spotter Camera (EO/FLIR/LRF/LDS)
  • Synthetic Aperture Radar/Ground Moving Target Indicator (SAR/GMTI)
  • Inverse SAR (ISAR)"
 
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A navy frigate BNS omer faruq caught fire today at BN base Isa khan Chittagong according to fire service
Fire breaks out in Ctg Bangladesh Navy frigate

Fire occurred on the oldest frigate belonging to the BN. Good thing the Fire Station was close by on Airport Road. High time they scrapped this old fogie or maybe gave it to the BCG for long range patrol. The image in the linked news story is not of the Omar Faruq but of the ex- USCG WHEC (renamed BNS Somudro Bijoy'). Tells you how much these news-types care about accuracy.
 
据了解,孟加拉国曾于上世纪90年代中期在公司购买过2架运12Ⅱ型机,此次到访公司是应中航技邀请,为该国海军战舰购买直升机。Akhtar Habib等人将在考察结束后,回国商讨具体购买事宜。
孟加拉国海军基地司令考察哈飞直九直升机_中国直升机网
New reports confirmed that Akhtar Habib came to AVIC HAIG for Z-9. The bought helicopter wil be deployed on BD navy warships.
 
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No, just last month. I guess the helos are for your Type 056s
its also likely that the Z-9 helos may be for the Hamilton-class frigates as well..... its in the news today that the US has formally offered USCGC Rush to BN....

any info or confirmation regarding Type 056 ships under construction in China?..... heard that the ships may have hangers in a lengthened hull....
 
its also likely that the Z-9 helos may be for the Hamilton-class frigates as well..... its in the news today that the US has formally offered USCGC Rush to BN....

any info or confirmation regarding Type 056 ships under construction in China?..... heard that the ships may have hangers in a lengthened hull....

I believe the Hamilton class cutters have been excellent stop-gap vessels for BN. 14000 mile range and 29 knot cruise with HELO storage, what's not to like? For deep sea EEZ patrol these are a God-send at the price they're being offered. Of course we need to replace the main gun, the Phalanx CIWS and equip this with C704's or C705's. But that's a given with the old fitted BN non-standard armament anyhow.

The reason why these are being replaced by Legend class cutters in the US is that compared to newer ships they require more frequent maintenance, frequent and longer dock time and have reduced operational capability because of downtime.

But given that BN has multiple shipyards and can avail of shipyards like Ananda and Western Marine (and scores of other drydocks at BN's homeport in CTG) maintenance is easily done at probably the lowest cost in the world (probably one third that of even India, which is the lowest in the world). So - excellent purchase. We should look for other WHEC vessels as they become available.

Here's the rush in sea state 4 or 5...

Mellon717_1.jpg


The lengthening of the 056's are in a way comparable in a 'mini' way to how the new Arleigh Burke Flight II class (DDG 79+ vs. DDG 51) was lengthened for HELO storage. This is why (and its not rocket science how they did this),

"The ARLEIGH BURKE class Flight IIA (DDG 79+) feature a hull lengthened five feet over that of the DDG 51 class. The weight and metacentric height are reduced through using lighter superstructure scantlings. Lower hull plating thickness is increased over 3/4 the hull length amidships. Propellers have improved section to reduce onset of cavitation. The stern wedge (which improves fuel efficiency at cruising speeds) is extended out past the transom."

I wonder if the SIGMA class of Indonesia (which 'inspired' the 056 class anyway) have similar HELO storage and have similar reinforcements underneath.

DDG-51 Arleigh Burke - Flight IIA
 
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I believe the Hamilton class cutters have been excellent stop-gap vessels for BN. 14000 mile range and 29 knot cruise with HELO storage, what's not to like? For deep sea EEZ patrol these are a God-send at the price they're being offered. Of course we need to replace the main gun, the Phalanx CIWS and equip this with C704's or C705's. But that's a given with the old fitted BN non-standard armament anyhow.

The reason why these are being replaced by Legend class cutters in the US is that compared to newer ships they require more frequent maintenance, frequent and longer dock time and have reduced operational capability because of downtime.

But given that BN has multiple shipyards and can avail of shipyards like Ananda and Western Marine (and scores of other drydocks at BN's homeport in CTG) maintenance is easily done at probably the lowest cost in the world (probably one third that of even India, which is the lowest in the world). So - excellent purchase. We should look for other WHEC vessels as they become available.

Here's the rush in sea state 4 or 5...

Mellon717_1.jpg


The lengthening of the 056's are in a way comparable in a 'mini' way to how the new Arleigh Burke Flight II class (DDG 79+ vs. DDG 51) was lengthened for HELO storage. This is why (and its not rocket science how they did this),

"The ARLEIGH BURKE class Flight IIA (DDG 79+) feature a hull lengthened five feet over that of the DDG 51 class. The weight and metacentric height are reduced through using lighter superstructure scantlings. Lower hull plating thickness is increased over 3/4 the hull length amidships. Propellers have improved section to reduce onset of cavitation. The stern wedge (which improves fuel efficiency at cruising speeds) is extended out past the transom."

I wonder if the SIGMA class of Indonesia (which 'inspired' the 056 class anyway) have similar HELO storage and have similar reinforcements underneath.

DDG-51 Arleigh Burke - Flight IIA
I think the Hamiltons are likely to be more than just a stop-gap..... when we equip the ships with electronics, armaments and helicopters, their cost is gonna go up dramatically.... I don't think BN will invest that much behind a ship that they wish to keep in service for just 10 years..... any major modernization is for 15-20 years for sure....

and its almost a miracle that we kept our old Type 41/Type 61 frigates in service for so long.... the Umar Farooq is still in service.... I think these ships would do fine with the BN.... with a range like that, they can go up to Singapore and back 3 times without refueling; yet they would have enough fuel left for another 7 days' endurance!!!
 

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