BEIJING, March 15 (UPI) -- A second C28A-class corvette made for Algeria by China's Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding Group has reportedly become operational with the Algerian Navy.
The Chinese Communist Party newspaper People's Daily reported the vessel is part of a three-vessel order signed in 2012 for corvettes, to be outfitted with Chinese and Western systems.
The vessels' weapons are Chinese and include eight C-802 anti-ship missiles, a FM-90N launcher for short-range HQ-7 surface-to-air missiles, an H/PJ-26 76-millimeter main gun, two sets of Type 730 CIWS and two triple-tube 324-millimeter torpedo launchers. Electronic equipment, including radar, are supplied by Thales and will reportedly be installed following the ships' delivery to Algeria.
The C28A corvettes are about 393.7 feet long, about 47.2 feet wide and have a speed of 30 knots. Among their features is a helicopter flight deck.
People's Daily said the first C28A corvette ordered by Algeria was delivered in November of last year.
