| Bangladesh Navy |
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Bangladesh Navy Crest |
| Active | 1971 - present |
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| Country |  Bangladesh |
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| Size | 17,000 personnel |
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| Naval Headquarters | Dhaka, Bangladesh |
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| Nickname | BN |
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| Motto | শান্তিতে সংগ্রামে সমুদ্রে দূর্জয়
In War and Peace Invincible at Sea |
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| Commanders |
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| Chief of Naval Staff | Vice Admiral Zahir Uddin Ahmed (ND), ndc, psc, BN |
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| Insignia |
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| Bangladesh Navy ensign |  |
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The
Bangladesh Navy (Bengali:
বাংলাদেশ নৌবাহিনী) is the naval arm of the Bangladesh Armed Forces. At present the navy is mostly limited to coastal patrolling, however it is implementing an ambitious procurement and expansion program to ensure the security of Bangladesh's maritime boundary.
History
The Bangladesh Navy was formally created as part of
Bangladesh Forces during Bangladesh's 1971 Independence war against Pakistan. Its official creation date is July 1971 during the historic
Bangladesh Sector Commanders Conference 1971. In 1971, with
West Pakistan imposing a brutal military crack-down in
East Pakistan, the
Bangladesh Liberation War was already underway. Many Bengali sailors and officers in the Pakistan Navy defected to form the nascent Bangladesh Navy. Initially, there were two ships and 45 navy personnel. On 9 November 1971, the first naval fleet consisting of six small patrol vessels were inaugurated. These ships tried to carry out raids on the Pakistani fleet, but were mistakenly hit and sunk by Indian Air Force on December 10, 1971. The next major attack was launched on
Mongla seaport. According to official figures from Bangladesh Navy, a total of 334 sailors were involved with the newly created navy with 22 being killed in action.
Organization/Formation
Bangladesh Navy (BN) has its Head Quarter at Banani, Dhaka. HQ has 4 branches, Operations (O), Personnel (P), Material (M) and Logistics (Log). Each branch is headed by officers who are titled as Principal Staff Officer (PSO) and known as Assistant Chief of Naval Staff(ACNS), e.g. ACNS(O). Under each PSO there are various Directorates headed by Directors with the rank of
Captain. Under each Director there are Deputy Directors (DD) and Staff Officers (SO). Flag officers holding command and/or important positions in the Bangladesh Navy are as follows.
Headquarters
 Chief of Naval Staff
- Naval Secretariat
- Judge Advocate General
- Naval Secretary (NS)
- Drafting Authority
| - Directorate of Naval Operations (DNO)
- Directorate of Naval Plans (DNP)
- Directorate of Naval Intelligence (DNI)
- Directorate of Works (D of Wks)
- Directorate of Naval Signals (D Sig)
- Directorate of Hydrography (D of Hydro)
| - Directorate of Personnel Services (DPS)
- Directorate of Naval Training (DNT)
- Directorate of Welfare (D of Wel)
- Directorate of Naval Education Services (DNES)Inst
- Directorate of Civilian Personnel (DCP)
- Directorate of Medical Services (DMS)
| - Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Materiel)
- Directorate of Naval Engineering (DNE)
- Directorate of Naval Weapon and Electrical Engineering (DNWEE)
- Directorate of Naval Armament Inspection and Supply (DNAIS)
- Directorate of Information Technology (DIT)
| - Directorate of Naval Stores (DNS)
- Directorate of Naval Budget (D of Budget)
- Directorate of Technical Stores (DTS)
- Directorate of Pay Pension and Accounts (DPP&A)
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Area/Operational Commands
- Commodore Commanding Chittagong (COMCHIT) - Commodore Mohammad Nizamuddin Ahmed,(TAS),ndc,psc, BN
- Commodore Commanding Khulna (COMKHUL) - Commodore K T Zaman, (C), ndc, psc, BN
- The Naval Administrative Authority Dhaka (Admin Dhaka)- Commodore A S M A Baten, (E), ndc, psc, BN
- Commodore Commanding BN Flotilla (COMBAN) - Commodore M Anwarul Islam,(ND), ndc, afwc, psc, BN
- Commodore Superintendent Dockyard (CSD) - Commodore M Zarzeul Islam (L), ndc, psc, BN
List of Chiefs of Naval Staff
Ranks in Bangladesh Navy
Commission Rank
Junior Commission and Non Commission Rank
Branches
Bangladesh Navy has 6 administrative branches:
- Executive (X)
- Mechanical Engineering(E)
- Electrical Engineering(L)
- Supply (S)
- Education
- Medical (M)
D&R
Equipments
Naval Aviation
Surface Combatants
Guided Weapons
Small Arms
Marines and Special Forces
The Bangladesh Navy maintains a Marines and Special Operations unit known as the
SWADS. The current strength of the unit is classified.
Future Expansion Plan
The Government of Bangladesh announced an ambitious defense procurement plan in February 2009
for a major purchase of weaponry, equipment and hardware for its armed forces, including anti-tank and anti-ship missile systems, aircraft for maritime patrol, frigates, tanks and helicopters. The Parliamentary standing committee in principle agreed to a 10-year development program in June 2009,
under which the navy is to acquire 3 missile frigates, 3 large offshore patrol vessels with helicopter deck (2 already acquired, with a third in the process), 12 patrol craft, submarines, 2 landing craft (utility), 2 hydro-graphic research ship ( 1 acquired), 1 salvage vessel, 4 Fast Attack Craft (Missile) and install guided weapons systems in some ships to strengthen their combat capability. Following
BNS Osman,
BNS Bangabandhu, the most modern ship of Bangladesh Navy, is going to be equipped with maritime helicopter, air defence and anti-ship missile. Bangladesh Navy is currently in the process of replacing it's three age-old ex-
Royal Navy frigates (
BNS Abu Bakar,
BNS Ali Haider and
BNS Umar Farooq) with modern frigates within the next couple of years and also preparing to add submarines to its fleet by 2019.
As of April,2010 the rapid modernization program of BN involves order of:
- 2x F-22B guided missile frigate (China),
- 2x large patrol craft/missile corvette (China),
- 1x Hydrographic Survey ship (Indigenous),
- 1x Fleet Replenishment Oil Tanker (Indigenous),
- 2x LCU (Indigenous),
- 1x Salvage ship (Indigenous),
- 12x Patrol boats -Indigenous,
- 3x Harbin Z-9C Anti-Submarine helicopter (China),
- C-802 ASM missiles for 3 frigate and 4 missile boats (China),
- Otomat Mk.2 Blk IV for BNS Bangabandhu (EU),
- FM-90N SAM for 3 frigates (China).
On discussion:
- 3x guided missile frigates in addition to the couple ordered from China,
- 2x King Air MPA (USA),
- New generation of light and heavy Torpedoes (EU + China),
- 4x guided missile corvette (Turkey - Milgem),
- 3x Submarine (Turkey / Germany / South Korea).
Chief of Naval Staff
China
Italy
France/
Germany
Soviet Union
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