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The Bangladesh Navy frigate program is a planned project to build 6 multi-role stealth guided missile frigates for the Bangladesh Navy. In 2017, a plan for the frigate project under the Forces Goal 2030 plan was officially announced. The Bangladesh Navy is inspecting proposals from several companies to evolve their designs into a prospective design for the proposed six guided-missile frigates.

Development

Chittagong Dry Dock Limited (CDDL) was selected as the prime contractor for the Bangladesh Navy's frigate program, however, no further progress has been made. The frigates were supposed to be equipped with state-of-the-art military hardware, sensors, and electronic warfare systems. The lifespan of each frigate was estimated to be 30 years on average. The project has been delayed due to financial, geo-political and recent changes in foreign policies. At the beginning of the project, it was estimated that all of the frigates would be built with Chinese technical assistance and complete transfer of technology but the program was revised in 2017, following the Rohingya refugee crisis. In 2018, Commodore Mohammad Nazmul Karim said that two frigates would be commissioned in 2022, two by 2025 and two by 2030. However, the Bangladesh Navy added significant new requirements to the project mainly to adhere to NATO standards. As a result, many renowned European shipbuilding companies have shown interest. The project has become a major priority of the Ministry of Defence and Prime Minister's Office. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the current Russian invasion of Ukraine, any frigate built under this project cannot be inducted into the Navy before 2036 at the earliest. At the moment the implementation of the programme seems uncertain.

Current progress

Although for now the program is officially active, albeit without any actual funding or budget, there has been no actual progress. Similarly, as in previous years there has been no mention of the frigate programme nor has there been any funds allocated for the program in the 2024-2025 annual budget.

Reported contenders

Companies from India and France.

References

1. ^ "From buyer to builder". theindependent. 14 January 2018. Archived from the original on 27 July 2021. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
2. "Bangladesh Navy To Build 6 Guided Missile Frigates Indigenously". Defense World. 14 July 2017. Archived from the original on 27 July 2021. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
3. "From buyer to builder". The Daily Star. 25 December 2017. Archived from the original on 23 May 2021. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
4. "OBJECTIVE". Chittagong Dry Dock Limited. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
5. "Warships to be built at Bangladesh shipyards in future: PM". The Daily Star. 30 December 2020. Archived from the original on 26 January 2021. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
6. "Building warships locally". The Independent Bangladesh. Retrieved 26 July 2021.

• Ships of the Bangladesh Navy
• Frigates of the Bangladesh Navy
• Proposed ships