Gowind-class design

Gowind-class design
File:Egyptian Navy Gowind corvette El Fateh (971).jpg The Gowind 2500 corvette of the Egyptian Navy El Fateh
Class overview
Name:	Gowind class
Builders:	Naval Group Boustead Heavy Industries Corporation (BHIC) Alexandria Shipyard
Operators:	Current operators Egyptian Navy Royal Malaysian Navy Argentine Navy Future operators United Arab Emirates Navy Romanian Naval Forces
Subclasses:	Kership
Cost:	Gowind 1000: Template:ShipCost Gowind 2500: Template:ShipCost Gowind 3100: Template:ShipCost
In commission:	22 September 2017 – present
Building:	8
Planned:	20
Completed:	8
Active:	4
General characteristics
Type:	Frigate , Corvette , Offshore patrol vessel
Displacement:	1,000 tons - 3,100 tons
Length:	102 m (334 ft 8 in) - 111 m (364 ft 2 in)
Propulsion:	CODAD
Speed:	28 knots (52 km/h; 32 mph)
Range:	3,700 nmi (6,900 km; 4,300 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Endurance:	21 days
Complement:	65 + 15 Special forces
Sensors and processing systems:	SMART-S MK2 3D radar CAPTAS-2 variable depth sonar SETIS combat system by Naval Group
Electronic warfare & decoys:	VIGILE 200 Tactical R-ESM System ALTESSE Naval C-ESM
Armament:	1 × OTO Melara 76 mm or Bofors 57 mm gun main gun 2 × Nexter Narwhal 20 mm or MSI DS30M 30 mm cannon 8 - 16 × VLS for MICA VL 4 - 8 × Exocet or Naval Strike Missile anti ship missile 2 × triple torpedo launcher
Aircraft carried:	1 × 5-tons helicopter or 1 × 10-tons helicopter (supported) Schiebel Camcopter S-100
Aviation facilities:	Stern hangar Helicopter landing platform

The Gowind design is a family of steel monohull frigates, corvettes and offshore patrol vessels developed since 2006 by France's Naval Group, formerly known as DCNS, to conduct missions in littoral zone such as anti-submarine warfare (ASW). The Gowind family includes vessels with lengths from 85 to 111 metres (278 ft 10 in to 364 ft 2 in) and displacement from 1,000 tons to 3,100 tons.

The Gowind design can deploy unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) and underwater unmanned vehicles (UUVs). An aft deck has been provided allowing for a 10-ton class helicopter or UAV operations.

The platform's weapon system consists of a multi-functional radar and MICA surface-to-air missiles (SAM). It is armed with Exocet anti-ship missiles. The propulsion system is based on Combined Diesel and Diesel (CODAD) and includes water-jets for improved maneuverability in shallow waters and high-speed performance. There is no funnel on these ships. The radar and other sensors are mounted on a single central mast thus allowing 360-degree view. Naval Group offers two variants of the design: Gowind 1000 and Gowind 2500 while Malaysia with the assistance of Naval Group locally developed the Gowind 3100.

Product reorganisation

Main article: Kership

The Gowind class originally consisted of offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) but after a rearrangement of products Naval Group decided to remove the OPV from the Gowind class and develop the OPVs as a class of their own with L'Adroit top of the range. To do so it formed the Kership joint venture with the Piriou shipyard in Concarneau, Brittany in May 2013 to build and market lightly armed and armoured OPVs for customs, fishing and other home security missions. Naval Group said this would enable it to concentrate on "developing relations" with clients seeking heavily armed and armoured warships while Kership handles the more civilian-standard OPVs.

Class specifications

Gowind 1000

The Gowind 1000 is a 1,000-ton corvette which is well armed and fast. It is well-suited for protection, escort and embargo naval missions in a littoral environment. The Gowind 1000 can also perform presence, surveillance, intelligence and policing missions. It is armed with:

• 1 x OTO Melara 76 mm main gun
• 2 x Nexter Narwhal 20 mm cannon
• 8 x VLS for MBDA VL Mica surface-to-air missiles
• 4 x MBDA MM40 Exocet anti-ship missile launchers

Sensors:

• Integrated mast to integrate most sensors in a low observable design

Gowind 2500

The Gowind 2500 multi-mission corvette is designed for surveillance, surface and subsurface combat, protection and escort naval missions. It can also perform presence, maritime surveillance and policing missions against trafficking and piracy.

The Gowind 2500 capitalizes on Naval Group's expertise in vessel stealth. The vessel is equipped with facilities for an embarked helicopter and drones. It is armed with:

• 1 × OTO Melara 76 mm main gun
• 2 × Nexter Narwhal 20 mm cannon
• 16 × VLS for VL Mica surface-to-air missiles
• 8 × MBDA MM40 Exocet anti-ship missile launchers
• 2 × triple torpedo launchers

Electronic warfare & decoys for Egypt's Gowind 2500:

• Vigile 200 Tactical R-ESM System
• Altesse Naval C-ESM
• Sylena MK2 decoy launcher system

Gowind 3100

The Gowind 3100 is a frigate with the displacement of 3,100 tons and length of 111 metres (364 ft 2 in). It is armed with:

• 1 × Bofors 57 mm main gun
• 2 × MSI DS30M 30 mm cannon
• 16 × VL Mica in Sylver VLS
• 8 × Naval Strike Missile SSM
• 2 × triple torpedo launcher

Vessels

Egypt

File:Egyptian Gowind 2500 corvette El Fateh (971).jpg

Installing the panoramic sensors and intelligence module on board the Gowind corvette El Fateh

In 2014, Egypt signed a €1bn contract with Naval Group to buy four Gowind 2,500-ton corvettes with an option for two more. Separately, MBDA negotiated a contract to equip the ships with MICA vertical launch air-defense missiles and MM40 Block 3 Exocet anti-ship missiles, together worth an additional 400 million euros, while Naval Group negotiated a 100–200 million euro contract for torpedoes. Three of the corvettes are to be built locally by Alexandria Shipyard within a technology transfer agreement. It was apparently President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi who decided these were the ships he wanted rather than the Meko A200 being offered by German group ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) or the Sigma corvette proposed by Damen of the Netherlands. Egypt is in talks with France to acquire another two Gowind corvettes which, if ordered, would be produced by France in Lorient.

In April 2015, Naval Group started cutting metal for the very first Gowind 2500 corvette, with a planned construction period of 29 months. It is the first of a series of four units that will be delivered to Egypt before 2019. The corvette's first block was laid in the dry dock in September 2015. Naval Group celebrated the launch of the first Egyptian Gowind corvette El Fateh at the Lorient naval shipyard in September 2016. El Fateh successfully concluded its first sea trials by the end of March 2017. The Egyptian Navy took delivery of the vessel in September 2017, three years after the order was placed.

Alexandria Shipyard started cutting metal for the second Gowind corvette intended for the Egyptian Navy in April 2016, it is the first corvette to be built locally in Egypt. Naval Group sent supervision and technical assistance teams, technical data and necessary components to Alexandria for assisting Egypt in the local construction of the three corvettes. The company also provided training for the Egyptian staff at its site in Lorient. All the Panoramic Sensors and Intelligence Modules (PSIM) were produced and tested in Lorient by Naval Group and later shipped to Alexandria for installation on the corvettes. The launching ceremony of the second Gowind corvette Port Said took place in September 2018 in Alexandria.

Construction work on the third vessel has already started, its first block was laid in the dry dock by July 2018.

Name	Hull number	Laid down	Launched	Commissioned	Homeport
El Fateh	971	30 September 2015	17 September 2016	22 September 2017	Alexandria
Port Said	976	16 April 2016	7 September 2018	11 Jan 2021
El Moez	981	July 2018	12 May 2019
Luxor	986	TBA	14 May 2020

Malaysia

Main article: Maharaja Lela-class frigate

Malaysia is locally designing and building six stealth frigates displacing 3,100 tons and length 111 meter based on the design of the Gowind corvette.

Name	Hull number	Laid down	Launched	Commissioned	Homeport
Maharaja Lela	2501	8 March 2016	24 August 2017
Syarif Masahor	2502	28 February 2017
Raja Mahadi	2503	18 December 2017
Mat Salleh	2504	31 October 2018
Tok Janggut	2505	TBA
Mat Kilau	2506

Argentina

After repeated negotiations and break-offs, in February 2018 the Argentine Navy was instructed to restart negotiations with Naval Group for the procurement of four Gowind-class vessels. The decision was motivated by the meeting between Argentine President Mauricio Macri and French President Emmanuel Macron at the annual World Economic Forum summit in Davos, Switzerland. An order for four vessels was expected in July 2018. In November 2018, Argentina confirmed the purchase of four Gowind-class vessels. The purchase includes the already-built L'Adroit, which in 2016 visited the region on a marketing trip, and three new vessels.

Name	Hull number	Laid down	Launched	Commissioned	Homeport
Bouchard	51	2010	2011	2011 (French service); 2019 (Argentine service)	Mar del Plata
Piedrabuena	52	2019	4 July 2020	13 April 2021
Almirante Storni	53	2019	6 July 2020	Projected October 2021
Bartolomé Cordero	54	2020		Projected April 2022

Romania

In July 2019, Naval Group won a €1.2 billion contract, which includes the construction of four new Gowind multi-mission corvettes for the Romanian Navy, as well as a new maintenance center and a training center. Naval Group is due to build the first corvette within three years, while the remaining three corvettes will be constructed by Constanța Shipyard and be delivered before 2026.

United Arab Emirates

In mid-June 2019, Naval Group announced that the United Arab Emirates Navy had signed a contract on 25 March 2019 for Euro750 million (US$850m) for two 2500 class frigates (actually weighing 2,700 tonnes) with options for two more, to be built in partnership with Abu Dhabi Ship Building Company (ADSB). They will be equipped with Naval Group's SETIS combat management system, MBDA's Exocet missile, Raytheon's Evolved Sea Sparrow missiles.

Foreign interest

Indonesia

In January 2020 the Indonesian Minister of Defence Prabowo Subianto, during a bilateral meeting in France with his French counterpart Florence Parly, said the Indonesian Ministry is interested in French military equipment; including 36 Dassault Rafale aircraft, (in negotiation) Scorpène submarines, and 2 Gowind corvettes.

See also

• Littoral combat ship
• Kamorta-class corvette
• Steregushchiy-class corvette
• MILGEM project
• Formidable-class frigate
• Gepard-class frigate
• Incheon-class frigate
• Guaiquerí-class patrol boat

External links

• Alexandria shipyard
• Gowind Official website
• DCNS presented an export version of its FREMM Frigate and its Gowind range at Euronaval