Kora-class corvette

Kora Class corvettes are 1350-ton guided-missile corvettes, in active service with the Indian Navy. Four vessels were built at Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) and outfitted at Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL).

Design and Hardware
Their primary role is as surface combatants, armed with four quad-launchers for 3M-24 anti-ship missiles (Russian: Kh-35 Uran, NATO: SS-N-25 Switchblade). The 3M-24E missile is guided by active radar homing and can carry 145kg warhead to a range of 130km at Mach 0.9 speed. They are powered by two diesel engines. A HAL Chetak or HAL Dhruv helicopter can operate from the vessel. They also have anti-air shoulder-launched missiles (Strela-2M (Nato code name: SA-N-5 Grail)).The Strela-2M has a range of 4.2km and a speed of Mach 1.75. INS Kulish is equipped with two Igla SAM launchers. The corvette is armed with a 76mm AK-176 dual-purpose gun and two 30mm AK-630 CIWS. AK-176 can fire at the rate of 120RPM to a range of 15.5km, while AK-630 can fire 3,000RPM to a range of 2km. INS Kirch and INS Kulish are fitted with a 76mm Otobreda super rapid gun firing 120RPM.

The sensor suite includes a MR-352 Pozitiv-E (Cross Dome) air or surface search radar, Bharat 1245 navigation radar and BEL Rani navigation radar. The MR-352 radar can track targets within a range of 130km. Fire control is provided by Garpun-Bal and MR-123 radars. The Garpun-Bal radar combines active and passive channels and in the active target designation mode, it operates in X-band (I/J-band) and can handle up to 150 targets at ranges between 35 - 45 km, although it is possible to obtain ranges of more than 180 km in wave-guide propagation conditions.

The corvette is fitted with the Ajanta P Mk II Electronic Support Measures system. There are four PK-10 chaff launchers and two towed torpedo decoys to deceive incoming anti-ship missiles and torpedoes. PK-10 is a 10 tube 120mm barrage chaff launcher that can fire 80 rounds at a time.

Kora Class is powered by two diesel engines driving two controllable pitch propellers through two shafts. Each engine is rated at 7,100hp. Four diesel alternators rated at 350kW are provided for power generation. The propulsion system provides a top speed of 25kt, an average speed of 16kt and a maximum range of 4,000nm.

Each ship cost approximately inr 2400000000.

History
The Kora class corvettes were designed by the India's Naval design bureau under Project 25A, as a replacement for the Russian-designed Petya II class corvettes of the Indian Navy. The first two were ordered in April 1990 and latter two in October 1994. The class was to be outfitted with the Trishul SAM, but following the cancellation of the Trishul project, a shoulder-launched SAM was adopted.

INS Kora undertook a goodwill visit to Singapore in mid-2001. The Indian Naval ship participated in Republic of Singapore Navy Day celebrations followed by International Maritime Defence Exhibition (IMDEX) Asia 2001. The participation of INS Kora in the International Maritime Defence Exhibition was a showcase of the Indian shipbuilding industry and its indigenous efforts.

Export
In 2012, it was reported that Mauritius had ordered 2 vessels based on this class from the Garden Reach Shipbuilders. This will be the first export of warships by an Indian shipyard.