The primary role of the Kora class is as surface combatants. They are armed with four quad-launchers for 3M-24 anti-ship missiles. The 3M-24E missile is guided by homing active radar and can carry a warhead to a range of 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.The Strela-2M has a range of and a speed of Mach 1.75. INS Kulish is equipped with two Igla surface-to-air missile launchers. The corvettes are armed with a AK-176 dual-purpose gun and two AK-630 CIWS. The Ak-176 can fire at the rate of 120 rounds-per-minute to a range of, while the AK-630 can fire 3,000RPM to a range of. and are fitted with a Otobreda super rapid gun firing 120RPM. The sensor suite includes a MR-352 Pozitiv-E 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. 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 and can handle up to 150 targets at ranges between -, although it is possible to obtain ranges of more than in wave-guide propagation conditions. The corvettes are fitted with the Ajanta P Mk IIElectronic 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 barrage chaff launcher that can fire 80 rounds at a time. The Kora class is powered by two diesel engines driving two controllable pitch propellers through two shafts. Each engine is rated at. Four diesel alternators rated at 350kW are provided for power generation. The propulsion system provides a top speed of, an average speed of and a maximum range of. Each ship cost approximately.
History
The Kora-class corvettes were designed by 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 corvette participated in the Republic of Singapore Navy Day celebrations followed by the International Maritime Defence Exhibition 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.
