Bangladesh Navy frigate program

Bangladesh Navy frigate program is a planned project of building 6 multi-role stealth guided missile frigate for Bangladesh Navy. In 2017, plan for the frigate project under the Forces Goal 2030 officially announced. Bangladesh Navy is inspecting proposals from several companies to evolve their designs into a prospective design for the proposed six guided-missile frigates.[1][2][3]

Class overview
NameTo be determined
BuildersChittagong Dry Dock Limited
OperatorsBangladesh Navy
Planned6
General characteristics
TypeFrigate
Displacement≥4,000 tons
Sensors and
processing systems
Electronic warfare
& decoys
Armament
Aviation facilitiesFlight deck and enclosed helicopter hangar

Development

Chittagong Dry Dock Limited (CDDL) has been selected as prime contractor for the frigate program of Bangladesh Navy. The frigates will be equipped with state of the art military hardware, sensors, electronic warfare systems etc. The lifespan of each frigate is estimated to be 30 years in average. The project has been delayed due to some geo-political and recent changes in foreign policies. At the beginning of the project, it was estimated that all of the frigates will be built with Chinese technical assistance and complete transfer of technology but the program was revised in 2017, following the Rohingya refugee crisis. In 2018, Commodore Mohammad Nazmul Karim said, two frigates will be commissioned in 2022, two by 2025 and two by 2030. However, Bangladesh Navy made huge new requirements on the project mainly to focus on NATO standards. As a result, many renowned shipbuilding companies from European countries have shown interest. The project has become a major priority of Ministry of Defence and Prime Minister's Office. But due to the Covid-19 and the current Russia-Ukraine war, any Frigate built under this project cannot be inducted into the Navy before 2026. The project will must be implemented by 2030.[1][4][5][6]

Current Progress

The project was to build Chinese 054 class warships and Netherlands 6 class warships with a budget of $2.5 to $3 billion and CDDL were prepared accordingly.From the Frigates offered by different countries, Bangladesh Navy preferred Italy-made Fincantieries Frigate, each of which cost $795 million, Which is beyond the budget of Bangladesh, so Bangladesh continued to review more, but they did not want to go down below their requirements, and that is why they have not yet selected any warships.[7]

Contenders

In this multi-billion dollar project, companies from several countries have submitted proposals for conceptual designs to Bangladesh Navy under joint venture program, complete transfer of technology as well as technical assistance and maintenance support. Renowned shipbuilding companies from Netherlands, France, Italy, Turkey and United Kingdom have shown interest.

Potential warship designs

List of latest frigate classes available for export from the mentioned countries:

References
  1. "From buyer to builder". theindependent. 14 January 2018. Archived from the original on 27 July 2021. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  2. "Bangladesh Navy To Build 6 Guided Missile Frigates Indigenously". Defense World. 14 July 2017. Archived from the original on 27 July 2021. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  3. "From buyer to builder". The Daily Star. 25 December 2017. Archived from the original on 23 May 2021. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  4. "OBJECTIVE". Chittagong Dry Dock Limited. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  5. "Warships to be built at Bangladesh shipyards in future: PM". The Daily Star. 30 December 2020. Archived from the original on 27 July 2021. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  6. "Building warships locally". The Independent Bangladesh. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  7. Shahi, Asaf. "Bangladesh Navy gets closer to finalising multi-billion dollar frigate program". The Bangladesh Defence Analyst. Retrieved 2023-04-12.
  8. "Turkish shipbuilder front runner in Bangladesh frigate program". Daily Sabah. 25 July 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  9. "DEFEA 2021: Damen displays Sigma 11515 frigate". Navy Recognition. Retrieved 2021-09-05.

10 "https://archive.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/2021/09/17/strategic-analysis-which-frigates-would-be-best-for-bangladesh-navy*

11 "https://www.defseca.com/defence-industry/bangladesh-navy-gets-closer-to-finalising-multi-billion-dollar-frigate-program/*

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