The ''Padma'' class is a

class Class, Classes, or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used d ...

patrol vessel A patrol boat (also referred to as a patrol craft, patrol ship, or patrol vessel) is a relatively small naval vessel generally designed for coastal defence, border security, or law enforcement. There are many designs for patrol boats, and they ...

s of the

Bangladesh Navy The Bangladesh Navy () is the naval warfare branch of the Bangladesh Armed Forces, responsible for the defence of Bangladesh's of maritime territorial area from any external threat, the security of sea ports and exclusive economic zones of Ban ...

. The ships were constructed at the

Khulna Shipyard The Khulna Shipyard Limited () is a Bangladeshi state-owned defense contractor based in Khulna, Bangladesh. It is located on of land at Labanchara, Khulna, Bangladesh. It is about 45 km north from the Port of Mongla. The shipyard has the c ...

, through a development program overseen and supported by the CSIC.

History

Under a long-term modernization plan for its

armed forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a ...

, the

Government of Bangladesh The government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh () is the central government of Bangladesh. The government was constituted by the Constitution of Bangladesh comprising the executive (the president, prime minister and cabinet), the ...

decided to order arms from internal contractors. The first step taken was to order warships for the

from

. Khulna Shipyard signed the construction contract with the Bangladesh Navy on 2 May 2010 and

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Sheikh Hasina Sheikh Hasina (''née'' Wazed; born 28 September 1947) is a Bangladeshi politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Bangladesh from June 1996 to July 2001 and again from January 2009 to August 2024. Premiership of Sheikh Hasina, Her ...

inaugurated the construction on 5 March 2011. The first warship of this class, was launched on 8 October 2012 and commissioned into the Bangladesh Navy on 24 January 2013. The second patrol craft in the class, , was launched on 23 January 2013 and commissioned into the Bangladesh Navy on 29 August 2013. The other three ships , and were handed over to the Bangladesh Navy on 15 December 2013. These three ships were commissioned on 23 December 2013. On 20 May 2019, Directorate General of Defense Purchase (DGDP) ordered further five units of the ships of this class for the Bangladesh Navy. Keel laying of the ships were done on 2 December 2019.

Design

The launch of the indigenous warship paved the way for the Bangladesh Navy to soon deploy its own design. Built at the Khulna Shipyard, the design is an

offshore patrol vessel A patrol boat (also referred to as a patrol craft, patrol ship, or patrol vessel) is a relatively small naval vessel generally designed for coastal defence, border security, or law enforcement. There are many designs for patrol boats, and th ...

that displaces 350 tonnes. The ships are long, with a beam of and a draught of . The ships can carry out missions lasting up to seven days at a time. They have a

complement Complement may refer to: The arts * Complement (music), an interval that, when added to another, spans an octave ** Aggregate complementation, the separation of pitch-class collections into complementary sets * Complementary color, in the visu ...

of 45 personnel with a top speed of .

Armament

The first batch of ships are equipped with a pair of dual 37 mm

naval guns Naval artillery is artillery mounted on a warship, originally used only for naval warfare and then subsequently used for more specialized roles in surface warfare such as naval gunfire support (NGFS) and anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) engagements. T ...

and another pair of 20 mm

anti-aircraft guns Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface ( submarine-launched), and air-bas ...

. Second batch of the ships carry one Bofors 40 mm L/60 cannon and a pair of 12.7mm CIS 50MGs. All these ships can lay mines and can carry

MANPADs Man-portable air-defense systems (MANPADS or MPADS) are portable shoulder-launched surface-to-air missiles. They are guided weapons and are a threat to low-flying aircraft, especially helicopters and also used against low-flying cruise missi ...

Ships in the class

;

References

{{Reflist, 2 Patrol vessels of the Bangladesh Navy Patrol boat classes

History

Design

Armament

Ships in the class

See also

References