Third and Last Chinese-Built C28A Corvette Delivered to the Algerian Navy
The third and last C28A Corvette on order for the Algerian Navy has been delivered by Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding, a wholly owned subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC, the largest shipbuilding group in China). Algeria signed a contract with China Shipbuilding Trading Co (CSTC) for construction of three C28A corvettes in March 2012.
The first two were delivered respectively on August 15, 2014 and January 26, 2016.
CSTC representatives at DSA 2014 explained to
Navy Recognition that the ship would be about 120 meters in length, a breadth of 14.4 meters and a draft of 3.87 meters for a displacement of about 2880 tons.
The three corvettes are fitted with a mix of Chinese and Western systems. The hull mounted sonar will be of Chinese origin, but Algeria has selected
and Kelvin Hughes for the navigation radar.
According to the CSTC representatives, the weapons fit will be of Chinese origin exclusively and will consist in:
- A single barreled 76mm main gun
- 8x C802 anti-ship missiles
- 1x FM90N launcher with 8x surface to air missiles
- 2x Type 730 CIWS located on top of the helicopter hangar
The corvette has some stealth attributes, such as the exhaust gases funnels located right on the water line on the sides of the hull in order to reduce its IR signature.
According to China state media, the class has set several news records in tonnage, fire and combat capability for exported Chinese military ships. These advances reflect the maturation of China's shipbuilding industry, including electronic weapons system capabilities that have reached international levels. From all appearances, the successful construction of this latest frigate is only the beginning of China's expanded influence in military ship trade around the world.
