TSAMTO, April 21. The Spanish company Navantia on April 15 on its Twitter page announced the ceremony of laying the keel of the fifth and last corvette of the Avante-2200 project for the Saudi Navy held at the company in San Fernando (Cadiz).
As reported by Defensa.com, after delivery to the customer, the ship will be named "Unaiza" in honor of the city in Saudi Arabia.
As reported by TSAMTO, in July 2018, Navantia signed a contract with the government of Saudi Arabia for the construction of five corvettes under the ALSARAWAT project, the cost of which is 1.8 billion rubles. euro ($2.1 billion). The agreement entered into force in November 2018. The construction of the corvettes is based on the Avante-2200 project, adapted to the requirements of the Saudi Navy.
Most of the work on the construction of ships is carried out in Spain. Steel cutting for the construction of the first of the five corvettes, the El Jubail, began in January 2019. The transfer of this ship to the customer is scheduled for October 2021. At the moment, three corvettes of the series ("El Jubail", "El Dirya" and "Hail") have been launched. A fourth ship, the Jazan, is under construction and is scheduled to be launched in July next year.
The ceremony of cutting the first steel for the construction of "Unayzah" (Unayzah) was held at the plant in San Fernando on July 15, 2020. It is assumed that the delivery of the corvette to the customer will be completed in 2024.
In accordance with the terms of the deal, the completion of the last two ships will be completed in Saudi Arabia, where, in particular, the CATIZ combat control system of Navantia will be installed and tested. In addition, Navantia will be responsible for the maintenance of the ships for five years from the date of delivery of the first corvette. The option provides for an extension of maintenance work for another five years.
The length of the El Jubail class corvette is 104 m, the maximum width is 14 m. It is equipped with MTU Friedrichshafen GmbH engines, estimated maximum speed-27 knots, autonomy-21 days. 102 people (crew and additional personnel) can be accommodated on board. The ship's armament will include a 76/62-mm Super Rapid artillery system manufactured by Leonardo, a 35-mm ZAK "Millennium" from Rheinmetall, a VPU with an anti-aircraft missile system, as well as other systems.
In addition to the CATIZ SBU, the corvettes will receive the Navantia-developed HERMESYS integrated communication system, the DORNA fire control system, the Integrated Platform Control system, the NAVCOMS / HERMESYS integrated external and internal communication system, the MINERVA integrated bridge, engines and gearboxes.
