The ''Badr'' class is a
class
Class 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 differentl ...
of
corvette built by the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
and operated by the
Saudi Navy
The Royal Saudi Navy ( ar, البَحْريَّة الْمَلكيَّة السُّعُودِيَّة, Al-Quwwat al-Bahriyah al-Arabiyah as-Su'udiyah) or Royal Saudi Naval Forces ( ar, القُوَّات البَحْريَّة الْمَلك ...
. The class has been relegated to a
coastal defence
Coastal management is defence against flooding and erosion, and techniques that stop erosion to claim lands. Protection against rising sea levels in the 21st century is crucial, as sea level rise accelerates due to climate change. Changes in s ...
role following the modernisation of the Saudi fleet. There are four vessels in service; , , and .
Design
In January 1972, Saudi Arabia signed an agreement with the United States to set up a 10-year programme to greatly enlarge the Saudi Navy, previously a small coastal patrol force. The programme envisaged the construction in the United States of a series of corvettes as well as other warships such as minesweepers and amphibious warfare ships.
As part of this programme, on 30 August 1977, an order was placed with the
Tacoma Boatbuilding Company
Tacoma Boatbuilding Company (sometimes Tacoma Boat) was a shipyard at 1840 Marine View Drive, Tacoma, Washington, in the United States. It was established in 1926 and closed in 1992.
History
Tacoma Boat was established in 1926 and built man ...
of
Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Pa ...
for 4 missile-armed corvettes, with delivery expected between 1980 and 1981.
The four ships, at first known by the US-Navy style designation of "PCG", and later as the ''Badr''-class, are
long overall
__NOTOC__
Length overall (LOA, o/a, o.a. or oa) is the maximum length of a vessel's hull measured parallel to the waterline. This length is important while docking the ship. It is the most commonly used way of expressing the size of a ship, an ...
, with a
beam of and a
draught of .
Displacement
Displacement may refer to:
Physical sciences
Mathematics and Physics
* Displacement (geometry), is the difference between the final and initial position of a point trajectory (for instance, the center of mass of a moving object). The actual path ...
was intended as ,
but the ships were completed significantly overweight, and were recorded as displacing standard and full load in 1995.
They are powered by one
General Electric LM2500
The General Electric LM2500 is an industrial and marine gas turbine produced by GE Aviation. The LM2500 is a derivative of the General Electric CF6 aircraft engine.
As of 2004, the U.S. Navy and at least 29 other navies had used a total of more ...
gas turbine
A gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a type of continuous flow internal combustion engine. The main parts common to all gas turbine engines form the power-producing part (known as the gas generator or core) and are, in the directio ...
rated at and two MTU 12V625 TB91
diesel engine
The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-ca ...
s (rated at a total of ) in a
Combined Diesel and Gas
Combined diesel and gas (CODAG) is a type of propulsion system for ships that need a maximum speed that is considerably faster than their cruise speed, particularly warships like modern frigates or corvettes.
Pioneered by Germany with the , a ...
(CODAG) arrangement, driving two controllable pitch propellers. This gives a maximum speed of when using the gas turbine and on diesel. The ships have a range of at .
Principal anti-ship armament consists of eight
Harpoon
A harpoon is a long spear-like instrument and tool used in fishing, whaling, sealing, and other marine hunting to catch and injure large fish or marine mammals such as seals and whales. It accomplishes this task by impaling the target animal ...
anti-ship missiles, with a gun armament of a single
OTO Melara 76 mm
The OTO Melara 76 mm gun is a naval gun built and designed by the Italian defence company OTO Melara. It is based on the OTO Melara 76/62C and evolved toward 76/62 SR and 76/62 Strales.
The system is compact enough to be installed on rel ...
gun forward, one
Vulcan Phalanx
The Phalanx CIWS (often spoken as "sea-wiz") is a gun-based close-in weapon system to defend military watercraft automatically against incoming threats such as aircraft, missiles, and small boats. It was designed and manufactured by the Gene ...
close-in weapon system (CIWS) aft, two Oerlikon 20 mm cannon, an 81 mm mortar, and two 40 mm
Mk 19 grenade launchers. Anti-submarine armament consisted of two triple
Mark 32 Surface Vessel Torpedo Tubes
Mark 32 Surface Vessel Torpedo Tubes (Mk 32 SVTT) is a torpedo launching system designed for the United States Navy.
History
The Mark 32 has been the standard anti-submarine torpedo launching system aboard United States Navy surface vessels s ...
for
Mark 46 torpedoes. SPS-40B air search radar and SPS-55 navigation/surface search radars are carried, while a
Mark 92 fire control radar is fitted above the ship's bridges. SQS-56 hull-mounted sonar is carried to direct the ships' torpedo tubes.
Ships
References
Bibliography
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External links
{{external media, image1
Photo of RSN Badr (612)}
Corvette classes
Ships built by Tacoma Boatbuilding Company
Ships of the Royal Saudi Navy