Kasturi Class Frigate

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	General Characteristics

Displacement:	1,500t standard displacement, 1,850t full load
Length:	97.3 meters (319 feet)
Beam:	11.3 meters (37 feet)
Draught:	3.5 meters (11.5 feet)
Armament:	Guns : 1 x Creusot Loire Compact 100mm/55 DP gun, 1 x Bofors 57mm/70 DP gun, 2 dual 30 mm Emerlec Mk74 twin mountings AA gun SAM : MANPADs only SSM : 2 x four container MBDA Exocet MM40-Block 2 for total of eight Exocet(upgraded) ASW : 1 x Bofors 375 mm twin barrel ASW RL
Electronics:	COMMAND AND CONTROL Air/Sea Search Radar : Thales Nederland (formerly Signaal) DA-08 air search Navigation Radar : Thales Defence navigation radar operating at I band. ASW : Atlas Elektronik DSQS-21 hull mounted sonar Fire Control : Signaal WM-22 fire control radar EW : ESM with RAPIDS intercept, Scimitar jammer, 2 x Dagaie decoy Decoy : Weapon Director: Thermal Imager:
Aircraft:	landing platform aft, suitable for 1 x light helicopter (Westland Super Lynx 300). No hangars provided.
Propulsion:	4 x MTU 20V 1163 TB92 diesels totalling 21.460 hp driving two shafts.
Speed:	28 knots
Range:
Complement:	124

The "Kasturi" Class Light Frigate (or large corvette) is a class of 2 light frigates in service with the Royal Malaysian Navy.

The class comprises 2 ships, the F25 KD Kasturi and F26 KD Lekir. The class is named after the lead ship of the class, in honour of Hang Kasturi who is one of the five famed warriors of the Melaka Sultanate. Though smaller than the Rahmat Class, the Kasturi Class has more punch and is more offensively capable.

The ships were build by the Blohm + Voss (HDW) shipyard in Kiel, Germany. Blohm + Voss also built the first 2 Meko A100 New Generation Patrol Corvettes of the Sri Kedah Class (of a final 26 ship class) at their Hamburg facility for the Royal Malaysian Navy.

F25 KD Kasturi was launched on 14-May-1983 and commissioned on 15-Aug-1984 while F26 KD Lekir was launched on 14-May-1983 and commissioned on 15-Aug-1984. Both F25 KD Kasturi and F26 KD Lekir is presently serving with 22 CORVETTE SQN and homeported at TLDM Lumut.

1 Weaponry
2 Propulsion
3 Aircraft
4 Similar Class
5 External links

[edit] Weaponry

The Kasturi has a potent 100mm/55 DP main gun in the and anti ship capability is provided by the MM40 Exocet SSMs. However, the Kasturi Class lack a decent anti aircraft missile system, and relies only on MANPADs systems for air defence. The FS1500 design, which is modular, allows for future upgrades which has been planned, but none has been announced by the Malaysian Navy.

[edit] Propulsion

The Kasturi Class is powered by a CODAD propulsion system, provided by 4 MTU diesels driving 2 shafts and developing 21,460 hp driving 2 Controllable Pitch propellors. This gives a maximum speed of 28 knots, and a range of probably 7000 nm at 14 knots.

[edit] Aircraft

The Kasturi Class does not have a hangar facility and thus does not have an embarked helicopter. The landing platform aft is suitable for a AgustaWestland SeaLynx 300 or the Fennec aircraft.

[edit] Similar Class

The Colombian Navy’s 4 ship Almirante Padilla Class is based on the same Blohm+Voss FS 1500 design but with a different weapons and electronics suite.