The seven new stealth "Next Generation Corvettes" that will join the Indian Navy by the next decade will be armed with anti-ship missiles -- probably BrahMos -- to destroy warships of the People's Liberation Army Navy Surface Force (PLANSF), whose incursions into the Indian Ocean show no signs of slackening.

Like Us on Facebook

The as yet unnamed class of missile corvettes last week received $2 billion in funding from the Indian government. The construction of these surface combatants is part of the Indian Navy's rearmament plan to have 200 warships by 2027 from the current number of 140.

The new Next Generation Corvettes (NGC) will be built under Project 28A. These warships will have a potent anti-ship missile capability; an adequate point defense missile system and will feature advanced stealth technologies.

Specifications by the navy want each NGC to carry eight anti-ship missiles to attack enemy warships. Each NGC will be outfitted with a multi-function surveillance and threat alert radar for early warning and target acquisition.

The NGC will also be fitted with a surface-to-air missile system and a close-in weapon system (CIWS) for anti-missile defense. Its defensive systems should be able to defeat sea-skimming missiles flying three to five meters above sea level at speeds up to Mach 3 (3,700 km/h).

For anti-submarine warfare, NGC will be equipped with active towed array sonar and two lightweight torpedo launchers.

NGC should have a range of not less than 7,400 kilometers (4,000 nautical miles) and a speed of 50 km/h (27 knots). It will be a 120 meter-long, single hull warship with low radar, acoustic, magnetic, visual and infrared signatures. These corvettes will have a crew of some 150 officers and men.

Warship construction at Indian naval shipyards is going on non-stop where some 50 warships are being built. The intensified pace is also due to the Make in India campaign that fosters "indigenization, or the domestic construction of warships and the use of equipment and weapons made in India as far as is possible. The new Next Generation Corvettes are expected to be further examples of indigenization.

The navy's newest corvettes, the Kamorta-class or Project 28, are anti-submarine warfare corvettes built to hunt down and destroy submarines, including nuclear submarines of the type operated by China.

The first of four ships in this class, the INS Kamorta, was commissioned into the navy in 2014. The last ship in the class, the INS Kavaratti, should be completed by late 2017. The second ship in this class, the INS Kadmatt commissioned in 2016, was 90 percent indigenous.

The Next Generation Corvettes will be the first corvettes built to destroy surface warships.

TagsNext Generation Corvettes, Indian Navy, Project 28A, People's Liberation Army Navy Surface Force, Kamorta-class