Surging Ahead

Prasun K. Sengupta

While the rate of annual commissioning of principal surface combatants by the Indian Navy in the last five years has dropped to dismal levels, those of the Bangladesh Navy (BN) have been on the rise with each passing year. The BN’s latest acquisitions are two decommissioned PLA Navy (PLAN) Type 053H3 (Jiangwei-II-class) guided-missile frigates (FFG) that are now in the process of being transferred.

Bangladesh Navy’s Type 053H3 frigate

The 2,200-tonne FFGs, formerly the Lianyungang (522) and Putian (523), have been undergoing refurbishment and re-painting at the Shanghai-based Shenjia shipyard and the PLAN’s East Sea Fleet’ homeport at Zhoushan. The BN will rename these two FFGs as the renamed BNS Umar Farooq (F-16) and BNS Khalid Bin Walid (F-19) once they enter service early next year. The BN presently operates four FFGs, these being a Type 053H1 (Jianghu-II-class) vessel acquired from China in 1989, a modified Ulsan-class FFG procured from South Korea in 2001, and two former PLAN Type 053H2 (Jianghu III-class) vessels transferred from China in 2014. It also operates two larger, 3,250-tonne ex-US Coast Guard Hamilton-class cutters, each armed with a 76mm OtoBreda naval cannon, acquir