Commandante JOAO BELO class

The Commandante Joao Belo class corvettes are sister ships to the French Comandant Riviere class. Although some sources consider them frigates, it is more accurate to call them corvettes, since neither size nor armament can be compared with their bigger sisters. Portugal commissioned them in the 1960s and entered service in 1967. Originally they carried guns and torpedoes only, although in the 1990 modernization, a 100mm gun and ASW mortar were removed and anti-ship MM-38 Exocet missiles were mounted. Two of the four Portuguese units were sold to Uruguay, which keeps them in service without anti-ship missiles, the other two vessels were decomissioned in 1998 and 2004.

JOAO BELO class gallery and more info