EDGE Group announced the launch of the first of three BR71 MkII Combattante corvettes for Angola, built by its subsidiary ADSB jointly with France’s CMN.
Angola’s first new corvette, NRA Ekuikui II (F300), based on the BR71 design of French shipbuilder CMN, has been launched at Abu Dhabi Ship Building (ADSB) facilities.
Three ships will be built in total for the Angolan Navy, with EDGE’s subsidiary ADSB taking on the construction of two ships while CMN will build the last one.
The ships’ armament covers anti-surface warfare and self-defence against airborne threats.
The gun armament, provided by Italian Leonardo, includes a 76 mm naval gun and a pair of Lionfish 20 mm RCWS.
Eight Exocet Block 3C anti-ship missiles will be present, but subject to change. It is known that EDGE Group is currently developing the MANSUP-ER anti-ship missile with Brazil’s SIATT, which will use Turkish Kale Jet’s KTJ3200 turbojet engine.
Air defence loadout is uncharacteristically colourful for a corvette with eight VLS cells for MICA VL air defence missiles and two SIMBAD-RC launchers for Mistral MANPADS missiles.
BR71 MkII Combattante, aside from its weaponry, stands out with two onboard HT-100 RUAVs (Also produced by EDGE) each ship to support patrol duties.
The ship, powered by four diesel engines and four water jets provided by Kongsberg, can reach a top speed of 30 knots.
Author: Kaan Azman
Editor: Özgür Ekşi
