Navantia Delivers Third Avante 2200 Class Corvette To The Royal Saudi Navy
At a ceremony held at the San Fernando shipyard, the Royal Saudi Naval Forces (RSNF) received HAIL, the third of the five Avante-2200 class corvettes built by the Spanish shipbuilder Navantia for the RSNF as part of the ALSARAWAT Project. Vice Admiral of the RSNF Fahad Bin Abdullah Al-Ghofaily, Spanish Minister of Industry, Commerce, and Tourism Mrs. Reyes Maroto, President of Navantia Mr. Ricardo Domínguez, SAMI Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Mohammad Alkahtani, and numerous other senior officials were present at the delivery ceremony.
“This is one of the most glorious and historic moments for the Royal Saudi Naval Forces when His Majesty Ship HAIL raises the Saudi flag for the first time and commences her long and faithful service to the nation,” said Vice Admiral Fahad Bin Abdullah Al-Ghofaily, Commander of the Royal Saudi Navy. “HAIL, like the other corvettes in her class, was designed and built to be one of the most technologically advanced and powerful corvettes to meet national mandates in the realization of Saudi Vision 2030.”
“The commissioning of this corvette marks a new milestone in the relationship between our two countries, which has been reinforced in recent years thanks to the trust that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has placed in state-owned company Navantia,” said Reyes Maroto, Spain’s Minister of Industry, Commerce, and Tourism. “The MoU signed this week strengthens this trust and is a very important step for Navantia’s shipyards in the Bay of Cadiz.”
Five Avante 2200 corvettes are being built by Navantia for the Royal Saudi Arabian Naval Forces under a contract for €1.8 billion that was signed in April 2018. The first of five Avante-2200 class corvettes built under the project, Al-Jubail, was delivered to the Saudi Royal Navy on March 31, 2022, and the second, NB 547 Al-Diriyah, on July 26, 2022. The project’s remaining two ships, Jazan and Unayzah, are scheduled to be delivered by 2024. Aside from the construction of the corvette, the program includes life cycle support for five years after the first ship is delivered, with the option of an additional five years.
In addition, a new memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the procurement of five multi-mission warships was signed last week between the Spanish company Navantia and the Saudi Ministry of Defense and the General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI). This initiative attempts to improve the Saudi Arabian Navy’s state of readiness. The “5 multi-mission warships” mentioned in the signed agreement are thought to be corvettes or frigates.
According to Navantia, Avante 2200 corvettes, which are 104 meters long, 14 meters wide, and have a crew capacity of 102 people, can reach a top speed of 27 knots, and have a cruise range of 4,500 nautical miles thanks to four diesel engines producing 4,440 kW each. These corvettes, with a weight of 2,500 tons, will be able to serve at sea for 21 days without the need for additional support. One 76mm naval gun, one 30mm CIWS, four 12.5mm machine guns, 23 torpedo tubes, 24 anti-ship missiles, and 32 ESSM surface-to-air missiles (8-cell Mk 41) are part of the ship’s weapon system. Additionally, the ship’s flight deck and hangar can accommodate a 10-ton class helicopter.
Displacement: 2500 T Crew Capacity : 92 Crewmembers Length: 104 M Beam: 14 m Speed: 27 km Capacity: 10 Passengers / From the official website of Navantia
Moreover, “HAIL” and all other vessels in the ALSARAWAT project will be outfitted with the first combat management system that is “100%” Saudi-made, known as “HAZEM,” developed domestically. HAZEM integrates the Integrated Communication System, Fire Control System, and Integrated Platform Management System. The system was developed as part of SAMI Navantia’s mandate for the Avante 2200 project.