Corvettes and OPVs: Offshore Investments

In assessing the region’s
capabilities in the Corvette/
Offshore Patrol Vessel (C/OPV)
market the most important
question is what is the difference
between these two platforms, and
what makes these two diverse
vessel types exceptional?
by Ted Hooten
The question can best be
understood by looking at Malaysia.
To meet its New Generation Patrol
vessel (NGPV) requirement the Royal
Malaysian Navy selected the Blohm
& Voss MEKO 100 design as the
‘Kedah’ class. They seem to be OPVs
at first sight for their armament
consists of a 76mm (three-inch) gun
and a 30mm (one inch) gun but they
feature a sophisticated combat
management system, an electro-
optical director, a chaff launcher and
are equipped to operate surface-to-
surface missiles, surface-to-air
missiles and an electronic warfare
suite. These are not installed but it
was recently revealed that Kuala
Lumpur now intends adding anti-
ship missile systems to them. They
are rated in the naval bible, Jane’s
Fighting Ships as corvettes and will
be joined by DCNS ‘Gowind’ class
ships ordered last year from France’s
DCNS with the first example to be
delivered in 2017. The French Navy
operates one as an OPV but the
design can be used as a corvette
and Malaysia intends operating
them in this role.
OPV-type platforms can be used as
corvettes for both are generally
around the 1,000-2,000 tonne mark
but the OPV is more a law-
enforcement platform. It is designed
to protect a nation’s resources
within the Exclusive Economic Zones
(EEZ) extending some 200 nautical
miles (370 kilometres) from shore
and also to assert national
sovereignty and law while providing
a search and rescue as well as an
environmental protection capability
with some having a hydrographic
survey capability. Compared with a
corvette it tends to be slower but
with higher endurance often
operating a helicopter while some
have sophisticated command and
communications systems to interact
with foreign agencies, but they are
generally armed with nothing larger
than a 76mm gun. The corvette is a
surface combatant usually optimised
for Anti-Surface Warfare (ASuW) and
featuring surface-to-surface missiles
and consequently it has more
sophisticated sensors than the OPV
with higher speeds for rapid transit
or manoeuvres.
The largest OPV operators in Asia are
China, India and Japan, which have
to secure green or blue water
interests, while a number of
countries such as Indonesia rely on
their surface combatants in the
offshore role. This can sometimes
ratchet up tension in times of crisis,
such as the recent confrontation off
Borneo between Malaysia and
Indonesia, while the OPV acts as a
less threatening platform.

China

Most of China’s OPVs are operated
by
China Maritime Surveillance (CMS)
which continues to be expanded and
is scheduled to receive another 36
hulls of various sizes. Both the
Indian Navy and Coast Guard
operate OPVs, the former operating a
fleet of six vessels and the latter
having about a score of hulls from
1,200 to 2,200 tons and due to
receive half-a-dozen Advanced
Offshore Patrol Vessels with a
displacement of 2,230 tons. There
has been a considerable degree of
cross-pollination between the
services in OPV design and the
navy’s latest requirement for Naval
Offshore Patrol Vessels (NOPV), the
2,215-ton ‘Saryu’ class, whose first-
of-class was commissioned in
December 2012, is based on the
Coast Guard’s ‘Sankalp’ class.

Japan

Japan’s Coast Guard has some 50
OPVs, including the biggest in Asia
in the two 5,204-ton ‘Mizuho’ class.
Following clashes with the CMS off
the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands last year
Tokyo is expanding its Coast Guard
and will purchase four 1,000-ton
OPVs by the end of 2014.
Neighbouring South Korea has a
Coast Guard which operates four
OPVs of some 1,200-tons and is
receiving a small expansion of some
five vessels from the Hyundai yard
including a 3,000-tonne OPV.

South East Asia

Within South East Asia Brunei has
three 80-metre (24-feet) ‘Darussalam’
class OPVs, the Malaysian Maritime
Enforcement Agency (MMEA) has two
‘Langkawi’ class OPVs, the
Philippines Navy operates three
‘Jacinto’ class ‘corvettes’, which are
actually OPVs, and has acquired two
former US Coast Guard ‘Hamilton’
class High Endurance Cutters, and
may acquire a third to meet a long-
standing requirement for three
OPVs. It is now considering
installing anti-ship missiles in these
vessels to make them full corvettes.
Thailand has requirements for five
OPVs of which four would be
sophisticated craft, reportedly having
the same design as OPVs built for
Trinidad and Tobago but sold the
Brazil, while one will be a more
basic vessel. It operates two
‘Pattani’ class ‘corvettes’ which are
also actually OPVs.

Indian Ocean

Around the Indian Ocean Burma
operates three ‘sheep in wolves’
clothing, ‘Anawrahta’ class ‘corvettes’
which are actually OPVs, while
Bangladesh acquired two former
Royal Navy ‘Castle’ class OPVs and
the ‘Hamilton’ class cutter USCG
Dallas but there is a requirement
for three more OPVs. The cutter will
be upgraded to a corvette with a
combat system, anti-submarine
torpedoes and anti-ship missiles. Sri
Lanka operates a number of former
Indian and US Coast Guard OPVs but
might well expand the force. In the
Pacific, New Zealand acquired two
‘Protector’ class OPVs which are
unusual because they have ice-
strengthened bows to operate in
Antarctica. Australia has a plan,
Project Sea 1180 for a 2,000-tonne
Offshore Combat Vessel (OCV) which
would meet a variety of roles
including acting as an OPV. This $
3.1 billion programme is unlikely to
be implemented until the first half
of the next decade.
The demand for true corvettes has
grown steadily in the past couple of
decades replacing requirements for
Fast Attack Craft (FAC). FACs are
small platforms especially vulnerable
to air attack because their
surveillance radar antenna is
relatively low reducing the search
area and counter-measures reaction
times, they cannot mount a
significant air defence system which
makes them vulnerable even to
helicopter stand-off attack and their
lack of compartments means a bomb
or missile strike can inflict
catastrophic damage. The corvette
overcomes most of these problems
making them a useful surface
combatant with superior radar
search area, more compartments and
the introduction of damage control
while bringing the prospect of better
air defence protection. It is also a
more versatile platform for it can be
used for Anti-Submarine Warfare
(ASW) through the installation of
sonars and lightweight torpedo
launchers.

Indonesia

It should be noted that not all
corvettes have surface-to-surface
missiles, and Indonesia’s former East
German ‘Parchim Is’, or ‘Kapitan
Pattimura’ class, are unusual in
being dedicated ASW platforms with
hull-mounted sonar, augmented in
some ships by variable depth
sensors, armed with both anti-
submarine torpedoes and mortars.
Indonesia
augments these 16 ships
with seven Dutch-built vessels; three
30-year-old ‘Fatahillahs’, which also
feature a strong ASW suite, and the
most modern Damen Schelde Naval
Shipbuilding (DSNS) ‘Diponegoro’
class which are one of Damen’s
Sigma family (Sigma 9113), with their
shaped hulls to reduce the radar
cross section.
The Sigmas form the keel of a new
family of corvettes (also designated
‘light frigates’) to meet the Guided
Missile Escort (Perusak Kawal Rudal)
105 requirement which are being
designed by DSNS and the domestic
yard PT PAL under an August 2010
agreement. Based upon the Sigma
10514, these 2,400-tonne vessels will
be optimised for ASW with the first
of two scheduled to be laid down
this year and to enter service in
2016 but it is unclear how many are
required. Priority may have been
given to a requirement for three
submarines with work starting next
year.

Malaysia

Neighbouring Malaysia’s
requirements have been mentioned
earlier and it should be noted that
the Royal Malaysian Navy also
operates six corvettes; four former
Iraqi ‘Assads’ (as the ‘Laksamana’
class) and two German-built
‘Kasturis’, while Singapore has six
‘Victory’ class ships based upon the
Lürssen MGB 62 design but with an
exceptionally high mast for its
search radar. Nearby Thailand
operates seven corvettes of which
the five ‘Khamronsin’ and ‘Tapi’ class
are ASW vessels. There is no
requirement for new vessels with
Bangkok more interested in
acquiring frigates and upgrading its
vessels.

Vietnam

By contrast Vietnam is expanding its
corvette fleet steadily from the
original four ‘Tarantul’ (‘Project
1241E’) class, with an ASW
capability, and two domestically-
built ‘Improved Pauks’ (‘Project
12418’) and is acquiring up to ten
‘Improved Tarantuls’ (‘Project
1241.8’) all of which are pure ASuW
vessels. In 2011 DSNS revealed they
were discussing the sale of four
‘Sigma 10514s’ to Vietnam, of which
two would be built domestically
Vietnam is also acquiring Russian-
built frigates, two of which have
been delivered, reflecting the
preference of some Asian navies for
larger, multi-role platforms capable
of projecting power in ‘blue water’
environments. South Korea, for
example, which operates 23 ‘Po
Hang’ class ASuW/ASW corvettes will
replace them with the ‘FF-X’ frigates
and the ‘Gumdoksuri’ class fast
attack craft for coastal operations in
offshore islands, with the first FF-X
ship having been delivered in 2012.
By contrast Japan has never been
interested in corvettes.

Taiwan

However, both China and Taiwan
want large surface combatants and
corvettes. Last year China’s first two
‘Jiangdao’ (‘Type 056’) class corvettes
were launched and will join the fleet
this year. They were revealed to be
modern vessels similar to the
‘Diponegoro’ class with shaped hulls,
but at 1,440-tonnes (compared with
1,692 tonnes) they are slightly
smaller. They are reportedly to
replace the 40-year-old ‘Jianghu I/
I’ (‘Type 053H/H1’) class frigates and
the ‘Houxin/Houjian’ (‘Type 037
1G/2’) fast attack craft/patrol craft.
These ships are being built by the
Hudong-Zhonghua and Huangpu
yards, who also built the ‘Jianghus’
and it is reported that ten are at
various stages of construction with
at least two more on order.
Taiwan, which has previously relied
upon a combination of major surface
combatants and fast attack craft, has
its own corvette programme as ‘Hsun
Hai’ (‘Swift Sea’). Revealed in April
2012 the programme envisages
‘stealthy’ corvettes of 900-1,000
tonnes with supersonic surface-to-
surface missiles which are reportedly
to be introduced to combat the
China’s new aircraft carrier, the
Liaoning. It will be a domestically-
designed and produced vessel with
some ASW capability, possibly
incorporating weapon and sensor
systems from the Taiwanese Navy’s
decommissioned ‘Gearing’ class
destroyers, its current ‘Knox’ class
frigates and ‘Jin Chiang’ class fast
attack craft. The requirement is for a
dozen vessels with deliveries
beginning next year. It is expected
that they will be constructed by
Lung The Shipbuilding.

India

There is interest in corvettes around
the Indian Ocean. The Indian Navy
itself has operated corvettes since
the 1960s and originally relied upon
Russian designs currently using four
‘Abhay’ (‘Modified Pauk II’) ASW
ships, which may be re-engined, and
twelve ‘Tarantul I’ or ‘Veer’ class
ASuW ships. The first indigenous
ships were the ‘Khukris’ (‘Project 25’)
which were planned as ASW vessels
but were built as ASuW platforms,
their only ASW capability being in
the helicopter for which there is a
deck, and the same applies to the
improved versions of the
‘Kora’ (‘Project 25A’) class, the most
significant difference being the
replacement of first generation SS-
N-2 ‘Styx’ surface-to-surface missiles
with SS-N-25 ‘Switchblade’.
The latest Indian corvettes are the
‘Project 28’ ships of the ‘Kamorta’
class. Like all Indian corvettes they
are intended for deployment in
offshore waters but these are multi-
role vessels which incorporate
‘stealth’ technology. They also
possess a considerable ASW
capability with hull-mounted and
towed array sonars, helicopter
torpedo-launchers and mortars as
well as a useful Anti-Air Warfare
(AAW) capability through their local-
area defence Barak 8 surface-to-air
missiles. However, construction of
these ships has been unusually
protracted with the first-of-class laid
down in 2006 but not scheduled for
commissioning until the third
quarter of 2013. Four ships are
currently on order, with the last to
be delivered in 2016, and the
difficulties and delays encountered
in producing this class must put at
risk New Delhi’s plans for twelve
ships but these may be overtaken by
plans for ‘Project 28A’ class ships
which might involve a trimaran hull.

Pakistan

Neighbouring Pakistan prefers its
surface fleet to consist of a mixture
of frigates and fast attack craft while

Sri Lanka

focuses upon OPVs.
However, Bangladesh has
incorporated requirements for
corvettes in the ambitious defence
procurement plan it published in
February 2009. Two small, 600 tonne,
corvettes or patrol craft are in the
plan but China’s separate tender for
two corvettes has been accepted
and Dhaka is considering a long
term plan to order four more
corvettes from Turkey.
The choice of corvettes and/or OPVs
by Asian navies will clearly be
shaped by a raft of factors including
cost, theatre of operations and the
need to have dedicated craft for the
small surface combatant role. It is
clear, however, that these vessels
will continue to be found in Asian
naval inventories well into the
decade.
  ● Asian Military Review