The ''Minerva'' class is a series of

corvettes A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the sloo ...

of the Italian Navy. They were built in two batches of four units during the 1980s and 1990s. The ships have fairly good speed and armament, including a 76 mm general-purpose gun, but, due to their emphasis on anti-submarine warfare, they lack anti-ship missile capabilities. These units are designed to operate in coastal areas. Their main missions include sea policing, patrol, fisheries protection, and naval commando training. Four ships of this class are now active with

Bangladesh Coast Guard The Bangladesh Coast Guard (; BCG) is the maritime law enforcement force of Bangladesh. It is a paramilitary force which is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Home Affairs. Its officers and sailors are transferred from the Bangladesh ...

as offshore patrol vessels (OPVs).

Ships of the class

Leader-class offshore patrol vessel

Four ships of this class, namely ''Minerva'', ''Urania'', ''Danaide'' and ''Sibilla'', were acquired by the

. These ships were reclassified as Leader-class offshore patrol vessels. Before delivery, each ship's weapons and sensor systems were removed and replaced with one

Oerlikon KBA The Oerlikon KBA is a 25 mm caliber, 25 mm (25×137mm) autocannon which was developed as a close range multipurpose weapon for the mechanised battlefield. It was originally made by Oerlikon (now Rheinmetall Air Defence, Rheinmetall AG), and is cur ...

25 mm gun and modern sensors appropriate to coast guard roles. A

helipad A helipad is the landing area of a heliport, in use by helicopters, powered lift, and vertical lift aircraft to land on surface. While helicopters and powered lift aircraft are able to operate on a variety of relatively flat surfaces, a fa ...

was added at the stern of each ship to accommodate a search and rescue helicopter.

Citations

References

* {{Italian destroyers, frigates and corvettes post-1945, noshipclass=yes Corvette classes Ships built by Fincantieri Ships built in Italy Corvettes of the Italian Navy