Corvette cutting edge gets sharper: the corvette has not just replaced the fast attack craft, which dominated the export market some 20 or 30 years ago, but it continues to evolve into a multi-role platform, which further enhances its value. The weapon systems associated with corvettes are a yardstick for marking the importance of these ships.

Summary

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Naval: corvettes

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Corvette cutting edge gets sharper: the corvette has not just replaced the fast attack craft, which dominated the export market some 20 or 30 years ago, but it continues to evolve into a multi-role platform, which further enhances its value. The weapon systems associated with corvettes are a yardstick for marking the importance of these ships.

Oman's recent signing of a contract with VT Shipbuilding for three 'Ocean Patrol Vessels' underlines the growing importance of corvettes in the world's export markets.

But there are signs that the major navies are also beginning to appreciate their value as general-purpose warships for medium- and low-intensity operations. Recent stories about plans for the Royal Navy's surface combatant force clearly indicates that a substantial part of it will be either corvettes or light frigates.

As with the fast attack craft the prime role of the corvette is anti-surface warfare (ASuW) and the main weapon for this is the surface-to-surface missile with radar seeker. The most common remains the rocket-powered MBDA Exocet MM 40 Block I and II, which has a lau...

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