GRSE’s 109 m, 2,800 ton corvette design proposed for the Brazilian Navy’s Tamandaré-class corvette project is a variant of its proposal for the Philippine Navy frigate program. The basic ship design is based on GRSE’s Project 28 anti-submarine warfare corvette in service with the Indian Navy. Source: Withheld

Indian naval shipyard Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE) has unveiled its design concept for the Brazilian Navy’s Tamandaré-class corvette program.

The Kolkata-based shipyard has teamed with Israel’s Elbit Systems Ltd for the supply of combat systems and local firm Sinergy Group Corporate (which owns EISA shipyard) to form a consortium for the four-ship Tamandaré project, which has an estimated budget of USD1.6 billion.

GRSE’s offering is a variant of the modified Kamorta-class (Project 28) corvette design previously proposed for the Philippine Navy frigate project. The baseline version is in service with the Indian Navy.

Basic specifications include a length of 109 m, a displacement of 2,800 tonnes, a top speed of 25 kt, and a complement of 136. Combat systems include a combat management system from Elbit, a Thales electronic warfare and communications kit, Leonardo sensors, guns and torpedoes, MBDA’s Exocet and Aster 30 missiles, Terma decoy launchers, a Canadian sonar system, as well as systems supplied by Brazilian company Ares.

GRSE will be responsible for the design and technical support, including shipyard modernisation and programme management, but will not supply any material directly, an industry source close to the subject told Jane’s . “The plan is to source as much Brazilian equipment as possible for these corvettes,” he said.

While the Brazilian Navy’s project management office EMGEPRON has released a notional design concept for the corvette, the actual design may be quite different. Brazil is looking to commission the ships between 2022 and 2025. The fleet is not meant to replace any existing ship but instead to create a new class of ships, according to the navy.

GRSE is one of nine industrial consortia bidding for the four-ship Tamandaré corvette project. The other shipyards in play are Goa Shipyard Limited, BAE Systems, Damen, Fincantieri, Naval Group, ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, Turkey’s STM, and Ukrinmash, according to an 18 June announcement by the Brazilian Navy’s Program Management Directorate (DGePM).