Gowind 2500-class corvette

Posted by: Andrei Dcs

Gowind 2500 is a class of corvettes with stealth characteristics designed by French shipbuilder Naval Group (formerly known as DCNS).

The Gowind is a multirole corvette designed to fight in multiple environments being albe to perform anti-submarine, anti-ship and air defence missions.

The Gowind 2500 is the standard surface combatant of the Gowind design family of warships.

A larger variant, the Gowind 3100 light frigate, was specially developed for the Malaysian Navy.

In Malaysia, the Gowind 3100 is officially designated as Maharaja Lela-class frigate.

There is also a smaller variant based on the Gowind design, an OPV commissioned by Argentine Navy.

Designated Gowind 1000, this smaller coastal vessel is also known as the Kership-class offshore patrol vessel.

The corvette variant is officially designated Gowind 2500, the figure representing its displacement.

Displacement and dimensions of the Gowind 2500

The Gowind 2500 corvette has a displacement of 2,500 tones and a length of 102 m (334 ft 8 in).

Propulsion of the Gowind 2500 class corvette

The Gowind 2500 uses a CODAD-type propulsion system.

Speed and Range of the Gowind 2500 corvette

Gowind 2500 can reach a maximum speed of 28 knots (52 km/h; 32 mph).

Gowind 2500 has an operational range of 3,700 nautical miles (6,900 kilometers; 4,300 miles) at a constant speed of 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph), and has an endurance of 21 days.

Gowind 2500 complement

Gowind 2500 has a complement of 65 persons, being able to additionally acomodate up to 15 special forces members.

In total, the Gowind corvette has the capacity to acommodate up to 80 persons.

Sensors and processing systems of the Gowind 2500 corvette

Gowind has a single main mast with a conical shaped-base which houses the SMART-S MK2 3D radar.

The Signal Multibeam Acquisition Radar for Tracking, S band (SMART-S) is a Passive electronically scanned array (PESA) 3D medium to long range radar.

SMART-S is used for the detection of air and surface targets having two modes of operation:

1. A medium range mode of up to 150 km at 27 rotations per minute;
2. A long range mode of up to 250 km operating at 13.5 rotations per minute.

The radar which was developed by Thales Nederland, the Dutch subsidiary of the French multinational Thales Group, has already been acquired by numerous naval forces around the world to equip their ships.

Gowind can be equipped with two sonars: a Kingklip Hull Mounted Sonar and a Captas 2 variable depth sonar, both developed by Thales.

Gowind 2500 corvette uses the SETIS combat management system (CMS) developed by Naval Group and Thales.

Electronic warfare & decoys

Gowind 2500 is also equipped with advanced electronic warfare and decoys including the VIGILE 200 Tactical R-ESM System, the ALTESSE Naval C-ESM and the SYLENA MK2 decoy launcher system.

Armament of the Gowind 2500 corvettes

Gowind 2500 is a multi-role corvette capable of anti-submarine, anti-ship and anti-aircraft warfare.

As standard, the Gowind 2500 is offered for export with MBDA armament, but this is not mandatory, as the customer can also opt for systems from other manufacturers.

As example, the United Arab Emirates has opted for American armament to be installed onboard.

As for the cannons, an Oto Melara 76 mm caliber is mounted on the stern. It is also equipped with two 20mm Nexter Narwhal automatic guns.

As air defense capabilty, the Gowind 2500 has a 16-cell vertical launcher (VLS) with each cell housing one VL MICA rocket.

VL MICA is an air-to-air and ground-to-air missile having a short-to-medium operational range.

The ground-to-air version, that is also installed on ships is powered by a solid fuel engine that propels the rocket up to Mach 3 speeds with a range of up to 20 km and capable to reach an altitude of 9 km.

For naval combat, Gowind is equipped with eight Exocet rocket launchers.

Exocet is a French-made anti-ship missile that can be launched from a variety of platforms such as surface ships, submarines, fix-wing aircrafts, helicopters and ground-based mobile systems.

It was widely used in conflicts, becoming known to the world following the 1982 Falkland War between Argentina and the United Kingdom.

During the conflict, the Argentine Super Etendard aircrafts hit the Type 42 destroyer HMS Sheffield and the former commercial ship Atlantic Conveyor with Exocet missiles, sinking both of them.

Gowind is also an exceptional anti-submarine warship, being equipped with two sonars, a Kingklip sonar mounted in the hull and a Captas 2 variable depth sonar.

The ship also has two triple torpedo launchers.

Gowind 2500 has a hangar and a helipad and it can operata aboard a medium-sized ASW helicopter with a maximum weight of 10 tons.

Gowind 2500 Operators

Egypt

The Egyptian Navy has acquired four Gowind 2500 vessels, the first being built in France and the next three locally by Alexandria Shipyard.

All the four units have been launched by May 2020.

United Arab Emirates

The Arab state has signed a contract for the purchase of two Gowind corvettes with a displacement of 2700 tonnes.

Romania

At the beginning of July 2019, Romania officially announced that Naval Group had won the contract to build four Gowind 2500 corvettes for the Romanian Navy.

It is an important achievement for Naval Group, since Romania will become the first NATO member to choose the French design.

All the four ships will be locally built by the Constanta Shipyard in colaboration with Naval Group.

Other Gowind Users

Malaysia

It is also worth noted that Malaysia order six units of a larger light frigate of the Gowind design, each ship having a displacement of 3,100 tons.

The class was officially designated as the Maharaja Lela-class of frigates.

Argentina

Argentina, on the other hand, ordered four Gowind 1000 offshore patrol vessels for the Argentine Navy.

Gowind 1000 is also known as the Kership-class of offshore patrol vessels (OPVs).