Is that the shell, just above and to the left of the middle ship?

I figured something based on the pattern 2x 22k ton Type 905 Fuqing-class plus 1x 37k ton Type 908 Fusu class, but then times 3.

Interesting, I had heard those Corvettes were no-longer in a material state that would make it worth bringing them into service. Wasn’t that one of the reasons why the new Iraqi government accepted the Saettia MK4 patrol boats presumably heavily subsidised from Italy.

They have been sitting in the water since the late 1980’s rather then lifted and kept on dry land, what is the state of the hull? What preventative maintenance has been performed over the years? Have the engines been regularly run up? Have the ballast tanks been flushed regularly? How expensive will they be to run post refurbishment considering their age? What would spares availability be like even with a modernisation?

Interesting development, I wonder how much work is going to be required to bring them into service. Purely on a personal note it would be nice to see them in service after all those years, it is a shame when a new vessel gets laid up.

Probably the interesting bit it the compensation for the 4 Lupo frigates that went to the Italian navy and the 4 missile corvettes that went to the Malaysian navy ….

Concern mounts over shrinking Indian SSK fleet

Inexplicably, the ministry of defence (MoD) has failed to buy torpedoes to arm the Scorpenes it contracted for in 2005. In 2008, after a global tender, Italian company WASS was selected to supply their Black Shark torpedoes that were specifically engineered for the Scorpene. In 2011, a price was finalised: about $300 million for 98 torpedoes. Yet, even today, the contract remains unsigned.

Consequently, when the first Scorpene submarine is commissioned in 2016, it will be armed only with the Exocet anti-ship missile.

+

Of 14 submarines in the fleet, three Russian Kilo-class vessels are unavailable: INS Sindhurakshak was destroyed in a cataclysmic explosion in Mumbai last August; INS Sindhuratna will take a year to repair after a fire in February. A third, INS Sindhukirti, was scuttled by Hindustan Shipyard Ltd, Visakhapatnam (HSL), which dismantled the submarine for refit in 2006 but cannot put it back together again.

The navy is furious that a Rs 1,500 crore frontline submarine was lost because the MoD insisted on providing work to HSL, a public sector shipyard without expertise in submarine repair.

Disregarding this experience, the MoD now insists that HSL builds one of the six new submarines being procured under the Rs 50,000 crore Project 75I. Cabinet sanction is being obtained for two to be built abroad and four in India — one in HSL and three in an unspecified shipyard, probably Mazagon Dock Ltd, Mumbai (MDL).

A senior admiral observes wryly, “INS Sindhukirti has already been destroyed by HSL. Now let us see whether it reduces Project 75I from six submarines to five.”

http://ajaishukla.blogspot.in/2014/05/scorpene-submarines-to-join-fleet.html

… nice going!

april 19: russian ships visited the port of Karachi. I’m told that is a first: is that correct?
http://www.seawaves.com/navcall_old/2014/april2014.asp

BPK 543 (Udaloy class) + salvage & rescue tug (but not the auxiliary oiler replenishment ship. that earlier sailed with them)

Stealth Subs Could Sink America’s Navy

Alarmist. The performance of modern SSKs is neither new nor a surprise: they have been doing well for decades.

http://indian.ruvr.ru/2014_04_21/Russian-Su-24-scores-off-against-the-American-USS-Donald-Cook-5786/

It seems like there are serious holes in American warship defence ability.

The demonstration was original enough. A bomber without any weapons, but having onboard equipment for jamming enemy radar, worked against a destroyer equipped with “Aegis”, the most modern system of air and missile defence. But this system of mobile location, in this case the ship, has a significant drawback. That is, the target tracking capabilities. They work well when there is a number of these ships which can coordinate with each other somehow. In this case there was just one destroyer. And, apparently, the algorithm of the radar in the “Aegis” system on the destroyer did not load under the influence of jamming by the Su-24.
Read more: http://indian.ruvr.ru/2014_04_21/Russian-Su-24-scores-off-against-the-American-USS-Donald-Cook-5786/

It suggest Aegis target tracking works well only when there is a number of these ships which can coordinate with each other somehow. This is strange: before the Burke class, carrier escort depended on 1 or 2 Ticonderoga’s (these being the only AEGIS ships at the time) and it suggests a lone AEGIS ship is ineffective (which is silly)

However you turn it, the bolded parts are inconsistent: you either jam the radar (in which case the algorithm is already loaded) or you prevent the algorithm from loading (in which case there is nothing to jam).

As for the modernity of AEGIS, it has been around for a while but in different versions (baselines):
•Baseline 2 (CG 52-58) consists of the Vertical Launching System, TOMAHAWK Weapon System, and Anti-Submarine Warfare upgrades.
•Baseline 3 (CG 59-64) includes the AN/SPY-1B radar and AN/UYQ-21 consoles. Baseline 4 (CG 65-73) integrates the AN/UYK-43/44 computers with superset computer programs developed for the DDG 51.
•Baseline 4 is the base Combat System for DDG 51-67.
•Baseline 5 was introduced in FY 1992 ships and includes the Joint Tactical Information Distribution System (JTIDS) Command and Control Processor, Tactical Data Information Link 16, Combat Direction Finding, Tactical Data Information Exchange System, AN/SLQ-32(V)3 Active Electronic Counter Countermeasures, and AEGIS Extended Range (ER) Missile. Baseline 5 was developed in three steps (phases):
Phase I integrated AEGIS ER and supports the missile Initial Operational Capability;
Phase II integrated system upgrades including Deceptive Electronic Countermeasures, Track Load Control algorithms, and Track Initiation Processor;
Phase III integrated JTIDS and the OJ-663 color display Tactical Graphics Capability into the AEGIS Combat System.
•Baseline 6 will be developed in two phases. Baseline 6 Phase I is planned for the last ship in FY 1994, and Phase III is planned for the first ship in FY 1997. Baseline 6 Phase III is the designation for the computer suite resulting from consolidation of the previous Phase II baseline with variations designed to introduce Tactical Ballistic Missile Defense (TBMD) and Cooperative Engagement Capability (CEC) in in-service ships. Baseline 6 upgrades will include embarked helicopters, Fiber Optics as applied to Data Multiplexing System (DMS), implementation of affordability initiatives, the Radar Set Controller Environmental Simulator (RSCES) and Battle Force Tactical Trainer (BFTT), Advanced Display System, Evolved SEA SPARROW Missile (ESSM), Identification (ID) upgrades Phase I, Advanced TOMAHAWK Weapon Control System (ATWCS) Phase II, Fire Control System upgrades, and the Joint Maritime Command Information System (JMCIS).
•Baseline 7 will also be developed in two phases. Baseline 7 Phase I is planned for the last ship in FY 1998 and Phase II is planned for the last ship in FY 2002. Major Baseline 7 upgrades include but are not limited to: AN/SPY-1D(V) radar upgrade, integration of Cooperative Engagement Capability (CEC) and Tactical Ballistic Missile Defense (TBMD) capability (first forward fit implementation), advanced computer architecture, ID upgrades Phase II, Cueing Sensor, STANDARD Missile-2 Block IIIB full integration, Advanced Integrated Electronic Warfare System (AIEWS) Phase I and II, Light Airborne Multipurpose System (LAMPS) helicopter Mark III Block II, Advanced Tactical Support, integrated Naval Surface Fire Support (NSFS), and Mark 50 torpedo with Periscope Depth Attack.
http://navysite.de/weapons/aegis.htm

See also http://www.lockheedmartin.com/us/products/aegis.html

US warship USS Donald-Cook sailed through the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Turkey, on April 10, 2014, en route to the Black Sea
On April 14 a russian fighter flies provocatively close to USS Donald Cook

140207-N-UE577-029. Atlantic Ocean, February 7 2014, Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Donald Cook (DDG 75) prepares to moor at Funchal, Portugal for a routine refueling on her way to Rota, Spain. Donald Cook is underway en route to Rota, as the first of four Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers to be stationed in Rota. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Andrew B. Church.
140326-N-KE519-002. Mediterranean Sea, March 26 2014, Cmdr. Charles Hampton, executive officer of the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Donald Cook (DDG 75), mans the bridge during exercise Noble Dina.
140331-N-KE519-009. Mediterranean Sea, March 31 2014, Seaman Maurice Walls steers the ship while standing the helmsman watch aboard the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Donald Cook (DDG 75), in support of exercise Noble Dina, an annual multi-national training exercise conducted with the Hellenic and Israeli navies.
140414-N-KE519-048. [U]Constanta, Romania, April 14 2014[/U], sailors assigned to the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Donald Cook (DDG 75) salute Romanian President Traian Basescu during his visit to the ship.
140421-N-KE519-007. Black Sea, April 20 2014, the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Donald Cook (DDG 75) transits the Black Sea.
140427-N-KE519-015. Haifa, Israel, April 27 2014, the forward-deployed Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Donald Cook (DDG 75) approaches Haifa, Israel, for a scheduled port visit.

http://www.navsource.org/archives/05/01075.htm

Don’t look like they even blinked.

Port visit in Romania was scheduled
14 Apr 14 USS Donald Cook DDG 75 Constanta –
See more at: http://www.seawaves.com/navcall_old/2014/april2014.asp#sthash.paMN82B2.dpuf