Volume 2(2)
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| INDIA'S POCKET
DESTROYERS: PROJECT 25A KORA
SANDEEP UNNITHAN & MRITUNJOY MAZUMDAR
Nearly a decade after they were ordered by the public sector Garden Reach Shipyard (GRSE) in Calcutta, the Indian Navy's Project 25A Class corvettes have begun emerging from the shadows of shipyard delays and equipment supply problems. The first P25A corvette (INS Kora P61), a follow on to the earlier series of four Project 25 Class corvettes, was commissioned into the Navy by Defence Minister George Fernandes at the GRSE on 10 August 1998, eight years after her keel was laid down. Three other vessels, Kirch, Kulish and Karmukh have been launched and are in various stages of fitting out, with the last one to be inducted into the Navy by 2003. The INS Kora made its maiden international appearance at the IDEX-99 defence exhibition in Abu Dhabi in February 1999. In fact severe delays, including labour unrest at the GRSE in Calcutta coupled with the stranglehold of the local mafia, had compelled the Navy to tow out the second P25A vessel, INS Kirch, to Bombay's Mazagon Dockyard in 1995 to complete her fitting out. The INS Kirch is over 60% complete and will join the Navy in mid-2000. These 1400-tonne corvettes are a wholly indigenous design prepared by the Navy’s design organisation in the early 1980s to replace the 10 Petya II class corvettes transferred from the former Soviet Union between 1969 and 1974. The first two corvettes, the Khukri and Kuthar, were ordered from the Mazagon Docks Ltd., Bombay in December 1983, the next two, Kirpan and Khanjar, were ordered from GRSE in 1985. GRSE also bagged the order for the follow-on series in April 1990 at a cost of approximately $200 million. These vessels were originally conceived as a class of 12 units, being divided into three sub-classes of anti-air, anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare platforms. However due to budgetary constraints and extensive delays in construction & weapons supplies, the number has been revised downwards. With its large AShM missile load, the ships can be used for massed attacks on coastal targets and flotillas either in independently or as flotilla leaders for smaller missile launching platforms such as the Tarantul Class corvettes or the Osa-II Class missile boats. They could also be used for extended patrolling and guarding the approaches to sensitive harbours and coastal installations, or as picket ships in scenarios too risky to involve sending prized assets like the Delhi Class destroyers which would be able to concentrate on more vital roles. The 16 ready-to-fire missiles rule out the need for a missile reload and the transfer of missile support facilities to the Gujarat coast for the Styx missiles, as was being done in war scenarios with Pakistan. In keeping with their size and role, all 8 of the Project 25 series have been named after oriental daggers, the Kora being an Eastern Indian chopping blade with an axe-head. What immediately distinguishes INS Kora from its predecessors is its large weapon load of sixteen 3M60 anti-ship missiles (Russian designation: Kh-35 Uran and NATO designation: SS-N-25 Switchblade) in four quadruple KT-184 launchers, which are inclined at an angle of 35º from the plane of the vessel's deck. The 3M60 is also dubbed 'Harpoonski' in some circles as it resembles the US-made Harpoon AShM. The Navy is now standardizing this missile load on all its new surface combatants, beginning with the three Delhi Class destroyers, the 3 Brahmaputra Class frigates and the 2 modified-Tarantul Class missile boats, which are under construction at Goa Shipyard. This is quadruple the missile load of the P25 Class and gives the P25A Class, firepower capability comparable to the Delhi which are also armed with a battery of sixteen 3M60 AShMs. The main objective behind the increased missile load is to provide a massed strike, thereby increasing the probability of a successful target engagement through saturation of enemy air defenses. The original plan was to have an identical AShM weapon fit of the P20/21/22 SSM (NATO SS-N-2D Styx) using two KT-138 twin launchers on all eight Project 25/25A units. But delays in the delivery of the follow-on Project 25A series and the availability of the more modern 3M60s ensured that the follow-on series would be much more heavily armed. GRSE officials say that the 3M60 missile launcher complex abaft of the AK-176 main gun has necessitated some 40 minor structural changes in the original P25 design. However in the INS Kora, the only external strucutural modification appears to be the removal of the missile blast deflectors intended for the heavier SS-N-2D Styx AShM and a somewhat modified bridge superstructure. As in the P25 Class, other armament consists of a single AK-176 76.2mm gun (85º elevation and fires upto 120 rounds per minute to 15 km), two AK-630 30mm six barelled gatling guns (85º elevation and fires upto 3000 rounds per minute to 2 km) which are employed in the close-in-weapon system (CIWS) role. However, one of the most glaring aspects of the corvette has been the near-lack of any significant air-defense (AD) or anti-submarine warfare (ASW) systems. Fitting an AD system seems to have been compromised by the helicopter deck. Presently, INS Kora only carries two manually-aimed twin launchers for the SA-N 5/Igla short-range anti-aircraft missile, although it appears that at one time, the SA-N-4 Osa SAM system was considered for this class. Likewise there are no integral ASW assets and the ship will rely on the Chetak/ALH fitted with dunking sonar and torpedoes to fulfill its ASW functions. Additionally, ALH-launched Sea Eagle AShMs could supplement the vessel's main AShM armament. These omissions are explained in part by the fact that these vessels are cheap platforms and are supposed to operate with other ASW escorts under friendly air cover. Nevertheless, it is very debatable whether this is a sound operational philosophy on the IN’s part especially as comparable units in service with other navies have significant AD and ASW assets. Countermeasures systems include four PK-10 decoy launchers in the INS Kora (according to reports in Jane's IDR) although inspection of existing photos of INS Kora seem to indicate that there are two PK-16 launchers as in the P25 Class and two BEL-supplied towed decoys. The sensor suite is largely of Russian origin along with some Indian-made sensors/systems and is substantially the same as the Project 25 Class with the possible exception of the new Ajanta P Mk.2 ESM system from Bharat Electronics Ltd. (BEL) and the SSM FCS. Fire control for the 3M60 is integrated into the Russian-designed Garpun-Bal surface-search multi-functional radar, which also functions in the ESM role. It is possible that this radar is being manufactured in India. In a combat situation, both single and group targets may be engaged with the missile FCS apportioning an optimal number of missiles to each set of targets, controlling the missile firing sequence and subsequent target engagement. The 3M60 missiles have yet to attain operational status in the Navy and it has been reported that the Kora was not actually armed with missiles at the IDEX-99 defence exhibition. Other sensors of Russian origin include a Pozitiv-E (NATO: Cross Dome) air-search radar, a MR-123 Vympel (NATO: Bass Tilt) FCS or the AK-176 gun and the two AK-630 30mm CIWS. The missile FCS, probably known as Klub, is different from that of the P25 Class which is known as the Klon. It is thought that the Russian sensors and FC systems are integrated into the Bharat/Vympel combat data system, which is a version of the Italian Selenia IPN-10 system. As in the P25 Class, there is no onboard sonar apart from an echo sounder. The ship has a large helicopter deck located amidships immediately aft of the funnel. Although its equipped with comprehensive helicopter landing systems supplied by SOFMA of France, it lacks a hanger. At present, only the HAL Chetak (license-built SA-319B Alouette III) is embarked but the vessel is capable of handling the much larger indigenous HAL Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH). Though the naval variant of the new ALH has not been test flown off the Project 25 series, naval officials say all the parameters were fulfilled during the ALH’s deck landing trials off the INS Ganga, a Godavari Class frigate, and the INS Viraat in 1998. At 1400 tonnes, the P25 Class is also 50 tonnes heavier than the P25A class, this can be partially attributed to an additional air-conditioning/heat-exchanger plant and a reverse osmosis plant capable of producing 20 tonnes of fresh water. INS Kora has an indigenous component of 70%. It is powered by two SEMT-Pielstick 18 PA6 V280 diesels which deliver 14,400 h.p. to 2 controllable pitch propellers. The diesels are assembled in India under license by Kirloskar. The ship has a top speed of 26 knots and a range of 4000 nautical miles at 14 knots. It has twin stabilisers on its sides to give impart stability to its weapon systems and ensure helicopter operations in high sea states. At one time it was planned to use gas turbines for propulsion in the Project 25A Class.
The ship is poorly finished and ugly weld lines are visible on its sides. Unfortunately, it is one of the problems afflicting indigenously-built warships. The lack of stealth features is also very noticeable on this class and it must be remembered that the design of the ship dates back to the early 80s when stealth wasn’t exactly in vogue. However, given the existing regional threats and their expected roles, this may not really be a significant factor for this class of ships. With the Navy deciding to spend its meagre budget on acquiring more general purpose platforms such as the indigenous Project 17 FFG for instance, a follow series of 4 more Project 25A to bring the projected total to 12 appears unlikely and for now, it appears that INS Kurmukh will be the last of P25As to enter the Navy. Specifications Length, overall: 91 metres |
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