According to the always very well informed Michel Cabirol from LaTribune.fr, the Romanian authorities have confirmed that they have selected Naval Group's offer to build the 4 corvettes which will replace the Admiral Petre Bărbuneanu or Tetal class corvettes. They will constitute the backbone of the Romanian navy in the years to come alongside the 2 Type 22 frigates acquired from the British in 2003.
This is a new success for Naval Group in Europe, after being selected with the Belgian ECA to design and build the 12 mine warfare vessels of the Belgian and Dutch Navy. It is also a new success for the Gowind2500 corvette, which tends to become the best-selling model in the history of the French group, with the 4 examples ordered by Egypt, the 6 examples from the Malaysian Navy, and the 2 units commanded by the United Arab Emirates. With 16 examples on order or delivered, the Gowind2500 is only one unit behind the Aviso A69 Estienne D'Orves class, except that no Gowind has been ordered by the French Navy.
Naval Group was given a challenger in this competition (in Belgium/the Netherlands too, moreover), facing Fincantieri and especially Damen, Romania's long-standing partner in shipbuilding. But the French Group managed to prevail thanks to a very aggressive financial offer of €1,2 billion, compared to €1,25 billion for Damen, and €1,34 billion for Fincantieri. The Italian group had also tried to take the matter to court a few days ago, deeming the French offer “favoured”. With this decision, the Romanian government puts an end to this episode which will probably leave marks in the cooperation between the Italian and French group.
Weighing 2400 tonnes for a length of 107 meters, the Gowind 2500 corvette offers excellent value for money, carrying 16 MICA-VL anti-aircraft missiles and 8 MM40 Block III anti-ship missiles, torpedo tubes for Mu90 torpedoes, as well as a 76mm and 2 20mm cannons. It has a hangar and a platform for a 10-ton helicopter, and can be equipped with a CAPTAS-2 variable depth sonar for anti-submarine warfare, in addition to the Kingklip hull sonar. . The building is perfectly suited for a theater like the Black Sea, and designed to rub shoulders with the submarines of the Russian Black Sea Fleet (636.3 improved Kilo). The Gowind2500 is manned by a crew of 65 men, and has a range of 3700 nautical miles at 15 knots.