BNS Bangabandhu is a guided missile frigate of the Bangladesh Navy, and is one of the most modern currently in service. She is currently moored at Chattogram, serving with the Commodore Commanding BN Flotilla. About 200 personnel serve aboard her. This frigate type is said to the most modern frigate of its class according to the Bangladesh Navy.
This vessel is said to be the most modern frigate of its class according to official statistics. It is equipped with some of the most advanced systems available; the Otomat Mk.II anti-ship missiles on board the vessel are an advanced and highly capable missile system with a range of over ; with mid-course update from suitably equipped helicopters, aircraft or surface platforms these anti-ship missiles can change course mid-flight and the warship does not need to be re-positioned to fire at the target. On 17 June 2013, during the annual exercise Sea Thunder 2013, BNS Bangabandhu successfully fired an Otomat missile for the first time. Additionally the vessel is armed with sophisticated point-defence surface-to-air missile system in the form of eight FM-90N SAMs and Fast Forty 40 mm/70 compact CIWS in two twin mounts. The vessel is also armed with six 324 mm B-515 torpedo tubes in two triple mounts which fire the EuroTorp Whitehead A244/S Mod.3 torpedoes. All of these weapons systems together with the one Otobreda 76 mm/62 Super Rapid gun give the vessel extensive combat capability. The AgustaWestland AW109 Power naval helicopter on board can be used for Search and Rescue purpose. In April 2018, Bangladesh Navy issued a tender for replacing two 40 mm Fast Forty guns on board the ship with new 40 mm twin-barrel gun system.
Electronic warfare
This frigate is equipped with Cutlass 242 ESM suite which can operate in a very dense signal environment. For electronic countermeasures, the ship has Scorpion 2 jammer. Scorpion is a RECM system for the protection of naval vessels from surveillance and target-designation radars, fire-control radars and RF-guided missile seekers. The primary purpose is to protect against sea-skimming radar-guided missiles. Integrated with Cutlass 242, Scorpion can simultaneously jam two targets in 360 degree coverage. LINK Y MK2 tactical datalink system is used by the ship to coordinate the actions of ship with airborne platforms and land-based units to achieve mission goals. The ship also has Thales TACTICOS combat management system.
Career
Named after Bangladesh's founding fatherSheikh Mujibur Rahman who is popularly termed as Bangabandhu, the frigate is capable of serving in a combat role, as well as performing peacetime maritime duties. She was laid down on 11 March 1998 at Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, Republic of Korea, and commissioned on 20 June 2001 as BNS Bangabandhu. Later, the ship was decommissioned for various warranty repair work and placed in reserve class-III as DW 2000-H frigate on 13 February 2002. In 2007 she was recommissioned again as BNS Khalid Bin Walid. Later on in 2009 she was renamed BNS Bangabandhu. The ship participated in Exercise Ferocious Falcon, a multinational crisis management exercise, held at Doha, Qatar in November 2012. While transiting to the exercise, the frigate visited the port of Kochi, India. The ship took part in Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training, an annual bilateral exercise with United States Navy, from 2011 to 2015. On 29 August 2013, the ship received the National Standard. Until then Bangabandhu was serving as the flagship of the Bangladesh Navy. In 2014, Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, a 777-200ER, went missing while in flight. Due to the possibility of finding the wreckage in the Bay of Bengal, Bangabandhu, along with the frigate, joined the search operation in the region. On 31 May 2016, she started for Colombo, Sri Lanka with 150 tonnes of relief for the victims of the floods and landslides caused by Cyclone Roanu. The relief included drugs, water purifying machines, pure drinking water, tents, food items and generators. She also joined the rescue efforts there. The ship left for Qatar on 22 February 2018 to take part in 6th Doha International Maritime Exhibition and Conference to be held from 12 to 14 March 2018. She paid goodwill visits to Mumbai port, in India, from 2 to 5 March 2018 and to Colombo port in Sri Lanka from 22 to 25 March 2018. On 29 March 2018, she returned to her homeport, Chattogram.
