Bulgaria To Orders Gowind-200 Corvettes From DCNS?

Bulgaria To Orders Gowind-200 Corvettes From DCNS?

(NSI News Source Info) December 5, 2008: Following his October 2006 meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Bulgarian Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev initially gave the go-ahead for negotiations to buy 4 Gowind corvettes. A French-Bulgarian working group was then set up to finalize the estimated EUR 900 million (then about $1.25 billion) contract before the end of 2007, but Bulgaria subsequently backed out, saying that it could not afford the contract. Instead, in December 2007 the Bulgarian navy spent EUR 54 million on a pair of used frigates and a minesweeping vessel from Belgium.

One of the two Gowind 200 corvettes that Bulgaria will purchase from the French company Armaris is to be produced in the shipyard in the city of Varna

Still, one should never underestimate the power of diplomacy. A July 2008 trip by President Sarkozy appears to have snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. DCNS’ 103m, 1,950t (338 ft., 2,150 ton) Gowind corvettes are directly derived from the design and technological lead advances of the new Franco-Italian FREMM multi-mission frigates – and they could also help give new life to another French weapon. The Gowind Class Corvette Gowind is designed to deploy Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USVs) and Underwater Unmanned Vehicles (UUVs), though it lacks the full mission module system in Denmark’s Standard Fle 300 corvettes or the USA’s Littoral Combat ships. An aft deck has been provided allowing for up to 10-ton class helicopters, or even Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) launch. The weapon system builds around a Setis combat system with a multi-functional radar, and 16 vertical-launch cells that can hold Aster 15, Mica-VL, or Crotale-VT1 anti-air missiles. It can also be armed with 8 MM40 Exocet or Harpoon anti-ship missiles, and carries a naval gun. Gowind corvettes are shaped for stealth. Its single central mast that replaces several sensor masts in other ships, and provides both improved signature and a 360-degree view for radars and other sensors. The ship’s propulsion system is based on Combined Diesel and Diesel (CODAD) but has no gas exhaust chimney, channeling exhaust into the water-jets in order to create maneuverability in shallow waters, high-speed performance, improved infared signature, and improved visibility for its top-mounted sensors. The ships come in several sizes. Gowind-200 ships are distinguished from the Gowind-120 and -170 ships by their larger size, which allows them to carry a suite of anti-submarine warfare equipment in addition to their other armament. The Gowind corvette deal may have wider ramifications for Bulgaria than the role it will play in that country’s military modernization. There are reports that only the first ship will be built in Lorienne, with the other 3 built in Varna by Bulyard Shipbuilding Industry, and equipment installed by the Bulgarian ship repairing yard Terem-KRZ Flotski Arsena. Dozens of Bulgarian engineers and technicians would need be trained in France as part of these arrangements, and French unions have already expressed concerns that outsourcing to Bulgaria’s cheaper shipyards may become permanent build locations as DCNS works to sell these ships abroad.