BNS Bangabandhu

BNS Bangabandhu (Bengali: বানৌজা বঙ্গবন্ধু) is a guided missile frigate of the Bangladesh Navy, and is one of the most modern currently in service. She is currently moored at Chattogram, serving with the Commodore Commanding BN Flotilla (COMBAN). About 200 personnel serve aboard her. This frigate type is said to the most modern frigate of its class according to the Bangladesh Navy.

History
Bangladesh
Name: BNS Bangabandhu
Ordered: 1998
Builder: Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, Republic of Korea
Laid down: 11 March 1998
Launched: 29 August 2000
Commissioned: 20 June 2001
Decommissioned: 13 February 2002
Reclassified: Reduced to the reserve on 13 February 2002
Name: BNS Khalid Bin Walid
Recommissioned: 13 July 2007
Renamed: BNS Bangabandhu in 2009
Homeport: Chattogram
Identification: Pennant number: F 25
Nickname(s): BNS BB
Status: In active service
General characteristics
Class and type: Ulsan-class frigate
Displacement: 2400-2500 tons
Length: 103.7 m (340 ft)
Beam: 12.5 m (41 ft)
Draught: 3.8 m (12 ft)
Propulsion: CODAD: 4 SEMT-Pielstick 12V PA6V280 STC diesels; 22,501 hp (16.779 MW) sustained; 2 × shafts
Speed: 25 knots (46 km/h)
Range: 4,000 nautical miles (7,400 km)
Complement: 186 (16 officers)
Sensors and
processing systems:
  • DA08 (SPQ-501/RAWS03) E/F band (S-band) air search radar
  • Kelvin Hughes 1007 I-band navigation radar
  • LIROD Mk 2 K-band TWT fire control radar
  • VARIANT surface search radar
  • MIRADOR optical surveillance and tracking system
  • Type 345 fire control radar (for FM-90)
  • ASO-90/ DSQS-21 Mod Sonar
  • Link Y Mk2 communication
Electronic warfare
& decoys:
  • ESM:Racal Cutlass 242; intercept
  • ECM:Racal Scorpion 2; jammer
  • Decoy: 2 x 15-tube SLQ-261 torpedo acoustic countermeasures
Armament:
Aircraft carried: 1 × hangar, 1 ×AgustaWestland AW109 SAR Helicopter

Design and description

The primary role of this ship is the defence and surveillance of the country's exclusive economic zone. Bangabandhu also carries out various constabulary tasks within Bangladesh's maritime boundary against maritime terrorism, environmental pollution, smuggling and can also be deployed for search and rescue operations when necessary.

Armament

This vessel is said to be the most modern frigate of its class according to official statistics. It is equipped with some of the most advanced systems available; the Otomat Mk.II anti-ship missiles on board the vessel are an advanced and highly capable missile system with a range of over 180 kilometres (110 mi); with mid-course update from suitably equipped helicopters, aircraft or surface platforms these anti-ship missiles can change course mid-flight and the warship does not need to be re-positioned to fire at the target (unlike other anti-ship missiles). On 17 June 2013, during the annual exercise Sea Thunder 2013, BNS Bangabandhu successfully fired an Otomat missile for the first time. Additionally the vessel is armed with sophisticated point-defence surface-to-air missile (SAM) system in the form of eight FM-90N SAMs (15 kilometres (9.3 mi) range) and Fast Forty 40 mm/70 compact CIWS in two twin mounts. The vessel is also armed with six 324 mm B-515 torpedo tubes in two triple mounts which fire the EuroTorp Whitehead A244/S Mod.3 torpedoes. All of these weapons systems together with the one Otobreda 76 mm/62 Super Rapid gun give the vessel extensive combat capability.

The AgustaWestland AW109 Power naval helicopter on board can be used for Search and Rescue (SAR) purpose.

In April 2018, Bangladesh Navy issued a tender for replacing two 40 mm Fast Forty guns on board the ship with new 40 mm twin-barrel gun system.[1]

Electronic warfare

This frigate is equipped with Cutlass 242 ESM suite which can operate in a very dense signal environment (up to 500,000 pps). For electronic countermeasures (ECM), the ship has Scorpion 2 jammer. Scorpion is a RECM system for the protection of naval vessels from surveillance and target-designation radars, fire-control radars and RF-guided missile seekers. The primary purpose is to protect against sea-skimming radar-guided missiles. Integrated with Cutlass 242, Scorpion can simultaneously jam two targets in 360 degree coverage. LINK Y MK2 tactical datalink system is used by the ship to coordinate the actions of ship with airborne platforms and land-based units to achieve mission goals. The ship also has Thales TACTICOS combat management system.

Career

Named after Bangladesh's founding father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman who is popularly termed as Bangabandhu, the frigate is capable of serving in a combat role, as well as performing peacetime maritime duties. She was laid down on 11 March 1998 at Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, Republic of Korea, and commissioned on 20 June 2001 as BNS Bangabandhu.

BNS Bangabandhu at CARAT 2012

Later, the ship was decommissioned for various warranty repair work and placed in reserve class-III as DW 2000-H frigate on 13 February 2002. In 2007 she was recommissioned again as BNS Khalid Bin Walid. Later on in 2009 she was renamed BNS Bangabandhu.

The ship participated in Exercise Ferocious Falcon, a multinational crisis management exercise, held at Doha, Qatar in November 2012. While transiting to the exercise, the frigate visited the port of Kochi, India.[2] The ship took part in Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training(CARAT), an annual bilateral exercise with United States Navy, from 2011 to 2015.[3]

On 29 August 2013, the ship received the National Standard.[4] Until then Bangabandhu was serving as the flagship of the Bangladesh Navy.

In 2014, Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, a 777-200ER, went missing while in flight. Due to the possibility of finding the wreckage in the Bay of Bengal, Bangabandhu, along with the frigate Umar Farooq, joined the search operation in the region.[5]

On 31 May 2016, she started for Colombo, Sri Lanka with 150 tonnes of relief for the victims of the floods and landslides caused by Cyclone Roanu. The relief included drugs, water purifying machines, pure drinking water, tents, food items and generators. She also joined the rescue efforts there.[6]

The ship left for Qatar on 22 February 2018 to take part in 6th Doha International Maritime Exhibition and Conference (DIMDEX-2018) to be held from 12 to 14 March 2018. She paid goodwill visits to Mumbai port, in India, from 2 to 5 March 2018 and to Colombo port in Sri Lanka from 22 to 25 March 2018.[7] On 29 March 2018, she returned to her homeport, Chattogram.[8]

See also


  • BNS Bangabandhu berthing at Kochi in 2011.
  • BNS Bangabandhu in the river Karnaphuli, Chittagong, Bangladesh.
  • A Bangladesh Navy captain firing M2 Browning during a surface gunnery exercise as part of CARAT 2011.
  • BNS Bangabandhu (F-25) mockup at hardware display 2015.

References and notes
  1. "Tender Specification Replacement of 2 X 40 L 70 Naval Gun - BNS Bangabandhu" (PDF). DGDP. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 April 2018. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  2. "BNS Bangabandhu berths at Kochi". The Hindu. 5 November 2012. Archived from the original on 18 May 2014. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
  3. "US-Bangla jt exercise begins today". The Independent. Dhaka. 30 September 2015. Archived from the original on 1 October 2015. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
  4. "PM confers National Standard to BNS Bangabandhu". NewsWorld365.com. 29 August 2013. Archived from the original on 1 October 2015. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
  5. "Bangladesh sends 2 navy ships to verify MH370 wreckage claim". The Daily Star. 2 May 2014. Archived from the original on 4 May 2015. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
  6. "Bangladesh Navy's ship starts for Sri Lanka with more aid for flood victims". bdnews24.com. 31 May 2016. Archived from the original on 1 July 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
  7. "BNS Bangabandhu sails for Doha". The Bangladesh Post. 22 February 2018. Archived from the original on 23 February 2018. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
  8. "কাতারে অনুষ্ঠিত আন্তর্জাতিক সমুদ্র মহড়া ও প্রদর্শনীতে অংশগ্রহণ শেষে দেশে ফিরেছে নৌবাহিনী যুদ্ধজাহাজ 'বঙ্গবন্ধু'". ISPR. 29 March 2018. Archived from the original on 8 August 2018. Retrieved 21 March 2019.
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