Kamorta Class ASW Corvettes

Tanmay

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The schedule and delivery times are weird and frightening. Did any new report etc cover such a huge build period.
Long back I heard it was due to design modifications after the first ship was delivered.
01.PNG
 

Bleh

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The schedule and delivery times are weird and frightening. Did any new report etc cover such a huge build period.
Long back I heard it was due to design modifications after the first ship was delivered.
View attachment 38917
Yes... one of my friends did vocational training at garden reach in 2016. He saw half-built INS Kavaratti structure lying there. Work was stopped because some subsystems had not been available or developed yet.
 

uoftotaku

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The schedule and delivery times are weird and frightening. Did any new report etc cover such a huge build period.
Long back I heard it was due to design modifications after the first ship was delivered.
View attachment 38917
There was dithering about waiting for certain items like SR-SAM and the Humsa.

Also the last 2 vessels were subject to experimentation with CFRP panels in the superstructure.

Expect follow up class to have more CFRP as IN has been quite pleased with the results and GRSE has actually got the hang of it via ToT from Kokums

New mine hunters also being planned for CFRP hulls.
 

Tanmay

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There was dithering about waiting for certain items like SR-SAM and the Humsa.

Also the last 2 vessels were subject to experimentation with CFRP panels in the superstructure.

Expect follow up class to have more CFRP as IN has been quite pleased with the results and GRSE has actually got the hang of it via ToT from Kokums

New mine hunters also being planned for CFRP hulls.
I think that after Kangnam fiasco, only way out is Kockums. Kangnam themselves sell unlicensed Lerici class derivatives of MCMVs manufactured by Intermarine. So ToT will always be an issue.
 

Prashant12

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GRSE set to deliver ASW corvette INS Kavaratti to Navy soon


Defence PSU Garden Reach Shibuilders and Engineers (GRSE) is set to deliver anti-submarine warfare stealth corvette INS Kavaratti to the Navy soon.

Adding to Indian Navy's firepower, Defence PSU Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) is set to deliver anti-submarine warfare stealth corvette INS Kavaratti to the Navy soon, its Chairman-cum-Managing Director Rear Admiral V K Saxena said.

'Kavaratti' is the last of the four Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) stealth corvettes built by the GRSE for the Indian Navy under Project P28, he said.

"All trials of the ship have been successfully completed, and we plan to deliver it by the end of this month," Saxena told PTI here.


'Kavaratti' will be the 104th ship to be constructed and delivered by the GRSE, he said.

With a displacement of 3,300 tonnes, the ship has a carbon composite superstructure, which has been flawlessly integrated with the steel hull through technology developed by the GRSE.

"The carbon composite superstructure provides advangate of a lower weight of the warship, thus increasing its stability, manoeuvrability and faster acceleration," Saxena said.

The new technology will mean that the warship, which has 90 per cent indigenous components, will also require lower maintenance, he said.

The ship is equipped to fight in nuclear, chemical and biological warfare conditions and its weapons and sensors suite is predominantly indigenous, according to Defence sources.

The first of the four ASW stealth corvettes under Project P28 - 'Kamorta', was delivered to the Navy in July 2014, 'Kadmatt' was delivered in November, 2015 and 'Kiltan' was delivered in October 2017, a GRSE official said.

All these four corvettes under the project are named after islands in the Lakshadweep archipelago in the Arabian Sea, he said.


The GRSE currently has a strong order book position of around Rs 27,400 crore under which there are a total of 19 warships at various stages of construction under six projects that are underway, the official said.

Of these, five projects are of the Indian Navy and one is of the Indian Coast Guard.

The Defence PSU has delivered five warships to Indian Navy in last 10 months, between March 2019 and December 2019, he said.

https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/asw-corvette-ins-kavaratti-1640511-2020-01-27
 

rohit b3

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GRSE set to deliver ASW corvette INS Kavaratti to Navy soon


Defence PSU Garden Reach Shibuilders and Engineers (GRSE) is set to deliver anti-submarine warfare stealth corvette INS Kavaratti to the Navy soon.

Adding to Indian Navy's firepower, Defence PSU Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) is set to deliver anti-submarine warfare stealth corvette INS Kavaratti to the Navy soon, its Chairman-cum-Managing Director Rear Admiral V K Saxena said.

'Kavaratti' is the last of the four Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) stealth corvettes built by the GRSE for the Indian Navy under Project P28, he said.

"All trials of the ship have been successfully completed, and we plan to deliver it by the end of this month," Saxena told PTI here.


'Kavaratti' will be the 104th ship to be constructed and delivered by the GRSE, he said.

With a displacement of 3,300 tonnes, the ship has a carbon composite superstructure, which has been flawlessly integrated with the steel hull through technology developed by the GRSE.

"The carbon composite superstructure provides advangate of a lower weight of the warship, thus increasing its stability, manoeuvrability and faster acceleration," Saxena said.

The new technology will mean that the warship, which has 90 per cent indigenous components, will also require lower maintenance, he said.

The ship is equipped to fight in nuclear, chemical and biological warfare conditions and its weapons and sensors suite is predominantly indigenous, according to Defence sources.

The first of the four ASW stealth corvettes under Project P28 - 'Kamorta', was delivered to the Navy in July 2014, 'Kadmatt' was delivered in November, 2015 and 'Kiltan' was delivered in October 2017, a GRSE official said.

All these four corvettes under the project are named after islands in the Lakshadweep archipelago in the Arabian Sea, he said.


The GRSE currently has a strong order book position of around Rs 27,400 crore under which there are a total of 19 warships at various stages of construction under six projects that are underway, the official said.

Of these, five projects are of the Indian Navy and one is of the Indian Coast Guard.

The Defence PSU has delivered five warships to Indian Navy in last 10 months, between March 2019 and December 2019, he said.

https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/asw-corvette-ins-kavaratti-1640511-2020-01-27
So they took more than 8 years to build a small 3300 tons warship with almost no weapons..
Niceeee!
 

Bleh

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So they took more than 8 years to build a small 3300 tons warship with almost no weapons..
Niceeee!
That's what happens if govt can't pay for subsystems... The structure was lying at Garden reach from atleast 2016, could be even earlier.

And about weapons @porky_kicker @Chinmoy @Indx TechStyle; the Kamorta class is 3300t & has only a gun & CIWS with ASW torpedoes & RBU-6000 (not even towed-areay sonar). That with about 6000km range.
But the Saryu class OPV are 2200t with the gun & CIWS, but has 11000km range. So why not use the OPV base with some modifications?
 
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ezsasa

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That's what happens if govt can't pay for subsystems... The structure was lying at Garden reach from atleast 2016, could be even earlier.

And about weapons @porky_kicker @Chinmoy @Indx TechStyle; the Kamorta class is 3300t & has only a gun & CIWS with ASW torpedoes & RBU-6000 (not even towed-areay sonar). That with about 6000km range.
But the Saryu class OPV are 2200t with the gun & CIWS, but has 11000km range. So why not use the OPV base with some modifications?
Oh no!!!! not again "isn't komarta under powered debate".
You might wanna read this. was looking for a different article, but found this accidentally.

===================



INTRODUCTION
Anti-Submarine corvettes are a particular class of ships which are the unsung heroes in a Navy. They are overshadowed by frigates, destroyers and aircraft carriers and seldom get the attention they need from the public. Many navies lack this category of ships as they depend on bigger combatants to do the job. But the increasing threat of modern submarines has made Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) ships, a basic need for a powerful Navy. Different navies have different designations for their ASW ships. The US Navy has the Littoral Combat Ship, the Royal Navy depends on bigger ASW frigates, the Russian and Indian Navies uses ASW corvettes and so on. Each navy has different tactics and roles for their ASW ships, so here in this article, we will analyse the Kamorta class ASW corvette of the Indian Navy and see what it is capable of.

ORIGINS
Since 1968, ASW corvettes have been a part of the Indian Navy’s operational strategy. They procured 11 Petya class frigates from the Soviet Union between 1968-72 and designated them as Arnala class ASW corvettes. These 1150 ton ships were fast and good at ASW, but had the following drawbacks.

  • They lacked the range and endurance for blue water operations
  • Had poor quality hulls which needed major and frequent refits
  • Lacked the ability to carry an ASW helicopter
  • Had almost no self-defense capability

These corvettes were restricted to escort role for missile boats which were also short-range vessels. They were also used to a limited degree as ocean-going escorts. The Indian Navy was happy with these ships in the following role until its transition into an aspiring blue water navy. They realized that these ASW corvettes needed to be replaced by a ship which overcame all the drawbacks of the existing class. They also needed a ship which would be equally effective in the littorals as well as in the deep oceans. This resulted in the development of the Kamorta class corvette. The Kamorta would offer the following performance enhancements over the Arnala class.

  • Thrice the displacement, resulting in more space for weapons and sensors
  • Provision of hangar and helipad for an ASW helicopter
  • Advanced radars and sonars
  • Long endurance, enabling it to operate in blue water
  • Ultra quiet propulsion and engines
  • High standard build quality

  • The Kamorta class has been designed for the sole purpose of hunting submarines. It has a displacement of 3400 tons, a length of 109 m and a beam of 13 m. These dimensions are comparable to that of a frigate as the Kamorta has been designed for blue water ops as well. The Kamorta is touted by the Indian Navy as having over 90% indigenous content. The steel and composites which have been used in construction are indigenously made along with a majority of the weapons and sensors. It is powered by 4 Pielstick diesel engines generating 3888 kW each, which drive 2 controllable pitch propellers via the gearboxes. Each ship has a crew of 150 sailors and 15 officers and a very ergonomic design which focuses on crew comfort.

    It has the following advanced design features which make it a suitable platform for submarine hunting.
    • X-form hull with sloped superstructure sides which reduce radar cross-section and make it very stealthy.
    • Raft mounted gearbox and engines, which damp the vibrations and reduce the acoustic signature of the ship. This is important to remain undetected from hostile submarines.
    • Range of 6500+ km at 18 kts ( 33km/hr) which allows long deployments
    • Combined Diesel and Diesel (CODAD) propulsion for quiet and efficient running of the ship
  • You can see from this that special emphasis has been laid on reducing the acoustic signature of the ship as much as possible. This is very important while it is searching for hostile submarines. The Kamorta needs to detect the submarines and engage them before it itself is detected and engaged.

    SENSORS
    The Kamorta is the first ship of the Indian Navy to be operationally deployed with an indigenously developed primary radar. The Revathi is a 3D radar operating in the S-band. It is a multi-role radar and is used for both surface and air search up to a distance of 200 km. It is designated as the Central Acquisition radar (CAR) as it is used to acquire aerial and surface targets before the fire control radar can direct the gunfire towards them. It will also act as a target acquisition radar for the VL-Mica surface to air missiles which will be fitted in the future. This missile doesn’t need a fire control radar as it has an active radar seeker in its nose which finds and locks onto targets on its own.



    Revathi 3D CAR
    The TMX EO Mk2 is an X-band fire control radar with secondary electro-optical and IR sensors for targeting. 2 such radars are fitted, one at the fore and another at the aft. The one at the fore provides fire control for the 76 mm gun and the one at the aft provides fire control for the Ak-630 guns.


    TMX EO Mk2
    They have an indigenous bow mounted sonar and an Atlas Elektronik towed array sonar. The bow sonar is the primary underwater sensor and the VLF towed array is used to detect submarines hiding under thermoclines in the water. The sonar gives targeting data for the ASW rocket launcher. The embarked helicopter will have its own dunking sonar and drop sonobouys as well.

    WEAPONS
    The Indian Navy needed a ship which has the armament of a 1200 ton corvette and the endurance of a 3400 ton frigate
    The weapons suite comprises of a collection of systems to attack submarines and defend itself. The following weapons are present on the Kamorta
    • 1 x 76 mm Oto Melara Super Rapid Gun Mount (SRGM) for engaging surface and aerial threats up to 16 km away.
    • 2 x RBU-6000 ASW rocket launchers designated as IRL (Indigenous Rocket Launchers). Each launcher is 12 barreled and has a reload of 96 rockets under the deck. They are retained because of their hardkill ability and immunity against countermeasures. These rockets have a range of 4500 m and a shaped charge warhead which can be set to explode at a particular depth. It can punch a hole in the hull of a submarine or be used to defend against an incoming torpedo. The rocket, after it is fired, reaches the required location and falls in the water where it sinks until it reaches its target. Usually, 24 rockets with various warheads are ripple fired against the incoming target to achieve maximum kill rate.
    • 2 x Ak 630 Gatling guns are placed above the helicopter hangar. They are the Close in Weapons System (CIWS) and are used for last-ditch defense against anti-ship missiles. This 30 mm 6-barreled gun has a rate of fire of 5000 rounds per minute and can be used to engage aerial targets at a range of 3 km and surface targets at 4 km.
    • 533 mm torpedo tubes for launching heavyweight torpedoes. These have a maximum engagement range of around 20 km.
    • Space left for the installation of 16/32 VL-Mica Surface to Air Missiles. They will be procured under the category of SR-SAM and locally named as Maitri.
    • 1 helicopter hangar for housing an ASW helicopter. The S-70B Seahawk will be embarked on it in the future after the Indian Navy receives it. This will be an extremely vital weapon system as the helicopter can engage submarines several hundred kilometers form the ship.

  • Ak-630 CIWS

    76 mm Oto Melara Super Rapid Gun Mount (SRGM)

    RBU-6000

    The Kamorta is not under-armed, but over-sized
    There is a widespread misconception that the Kamorta is poorly armed for a 3400 ton ship. But it is very wrong to look at things like that at face value without understanding the logic and naval doctrine for behind them. The Indian Navy needed a ship which has the armament of a 1200 ton corvette and the endurance of a 3400 ton frigate. Basically it is not under-armed, but over-sized. By 2017, it is expected to receive its SAM package consisting of 16-32 VL-Mica missiles which have a range of 15 km and an active seeker. This missile can intercept sea-skimming and supersonic cruise missiles and protect the Kamorta class from submarine launched cruise missiles.

    533 mm torpedo tubesA Kamorta Class Corvette under construction. Note the space where the SR-SAM will be installed in the future.
    However, one question always arises. “Why build an ASW corvette with limited capabilities, when you can build a multi-role frigate which can do much more?”

    The answer to this question can be obtained from observing the latest ships in the Indian Navy. The Shivalik class frigates and Kolkata class destroyers have an ASW specific equipment suite consisting of ASW rocket launchers, torpedo tubes, medium range guns, anti missile guns, sonars and surface to air missiles. What the Kamorta does is it just puts all the ASW and self-defense equipment from these 6400+ ton ships on a 3400 ton ship. This means that you now have a ship with the same ASW capabilities as a larger one and at a fraction of the total cost! So instead of sending a 1 billion $ destroyer for patrolling the oceans to hunt submarines, you can send a 250 million $ corvette to do the same job, just as effectively. This allows the Indian Navy to have 4 such corvettes for the price of 1 destroyer.

    ROLE IN COMBAT

    The main role of these ships will be to hunt the quiet submarines of Pakistan’s growing underwater fleet and the Chinese submarines which have been venturing into the Indian Ocean. 4 ships of this class have been ordered under Project 28 and a further 8 may follow on. There is no official information available regarding how the Kamorta class will be used in combat. That’s why i have presented the following ideas about what these ships will do during war and peace.
    • Carrier Escort

  • In this role, it will accompany the aircraft carrier and be integrated into the carrier battle group (CBG). It could be used as the initial detection screen where it sails 50 km ahead of the CBG and searches for submarines waiting to ambush the carrier. It can be paired with friendly submarines and ASW aircraft like the P-8I to offer superior protection to the aircraft carrier. It may be integrated into the INS Vikramaditya CBG in the future along with the Talwar class frigates and Kolkata class destroyers.
    • Littoral Warfare

  • In this role, it will basically accompany the Kora and other classes of missile boats which serve in the Indian Navy during operations in shallow water. These missile boats lack any sort of ASw capability and will be totally dependent on the Kamortas for protection. A similar combination was used successfully by the Indian Navy in the 1971 war.
    • Surface Combatant Escort
  • In this role, they basically accompany a major surface combatant like a frigate or a destroyer. Here, the Kamorta will act as a mini frigate with the same ASW capabilities as the larger ship. Hence larger ships can be saved for more important tasks.


    INS Kamorta with the frigate INS Satpura
    • Submarine Shadowing
  • Instead of sending a 7000 ton destroyer just to shadow an enemy submarine, a Kamorta class corvette does the same job. It will be more economical than sending a larger ship and the destroyers can be used for more important tasks. They will be used in peace and war to trail hostile submarines and destroy them if needed. These ships will be networked with ASW aircraft for more efficient tracking and detection of submarines.


    CONCLUSION



    The Kamorta class are future proof and will remain as front line warships for several decades. The total number of ships in the class may end up being 12 if the Indian Navy goes for a follow on order of 8 more ships. These ships will be vital for patrolling Indian and International waters and keeping shipping lanes free from hostile submarines. Constant upgrades in the future will keep them in top fighting condition and give a headache to hostile submarines.
 

Bleh

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You didn't get what I said. :nono:
TheKamorta would offer the following performance enhancements over the Arnala class.
  • Thrice the displacement, resulting in more space for weapons and sensors
  • Provision of hangar and helipad for an ASW helicopter
  • Advanced radars and sonars
  • Long endurance, enabling it to operate in blue water
I'm not implying Kamorta is underpowered... I'm saying one of our 2200t OPV has 11000km range & 3300t Corvette has 6000km range.
But the Gun & CIWS & hanger for 1 chopper in both being common, Kamorta only has some ASW torpedoes & rockets, no VLS.

So much for "big size", "long range".

If there's not a big difference of payload then why not use a modified version, with the sensors & composites added, of the much Much MUCH longer ranged platform (same speed, same power of 15000kW)!?
 

abhay rajput

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You didn't get what I said. :nono:
I'm not implying Kamorta is underpowered... I'm saying one of our 2200t OPV has 11000km range & 3300t Corvette has 6000km range.
But the Gun & CIWS & hanger for 1 chopper in both being common, Kamorta only has some ASW torpedoes & rockets, no VLS.

So much for "big size", "long range".

If there's not a big difference of payload then why not use a modified version, with the sensors & composites added, of the much Much MUCH longer ranged platform (same speed, same power of 15000kW)!?
I think that range is on slow speed and kamorta range is at its full speed..
 

Karthi

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An article about Kamorta class corvettes . Please give a read
 

Bleh

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Kid just made to news by Indo-Bangla bilateral naval exercise Bongosagar.
EjU52t_U4AAw4B1.jpeg


Then it just dawned upon me that Kamorta Class is our first desi anti-submarine warfare corvette. Kora Class & Kukhri Class that preceded it were not so... despite the famous '71 martyr INS Kukhri and being one.

With the following armament, they're both basically missile-boats (not that I'm complaining).
The Kora class actually packed a mean punch for its size, with;
  • 16 × Kh-35(SS-N-25) AShMs (4 x quad launchers)
  • SA-N-5 Grail launchers for IR-guided VSR-SAM
  • 1 × 76 mm 60-cal AK-176gun (P61)
  • 1 × 76 mm 62-cal Otobredagun (P62, P63 and P64)
  • 2 × 30 mm 65-cal AK-630CIWS
 

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