On March 31, 2022, at the Spanish naval base La Carraca in San Fernando in Cadiz, a ceremony was held for the transfer of the Avante 2200 project built by the Spanish shipbuilding association Navantia in the ordered series of five units of the large corvette Al Jubail (tail number "828", construction number C546) to the Saudi Arabian Navy.
Transferred to the Saudi Arabian Navy, the lead corvette Al Jubail (tail number "828") of the Avante 2200 project built by the Spanish shipbuilding association Navantia in a series of five units. Cadiz (Spain), 31.03.2022 (c) Navantia
The ceremony was attended by the Commander of the Saudi Arabian Navy, Vice Admiral Fahad bin Abdullah Al-Gofeili and the Chief of Staff of the Spanish Navy, Admiral Antonio Martorell Lacave.
Recall that contract agreements worth about 2.5 billion euros for the construction by Navantia of five large corvettes of the Avante 2200 project for the Saudi Navy within the framework of the Saudi Al Sarawat project were signed on April 12, 2018. In monetary terms, this is the largest export contract in the history of the Spanish shipbuilding industry. According to the updated schedule, the lead ship was to be handed over to the Saudi side by the end of 2021, and the last one in 2024.
The ceremony of the start of construction (the first steel cutting) of the head corvette Al Jubail (tail number "828") was performed at the Navantia enterprise in San Fernando in Cadiz on January 15, 2019, where the entire series is being built. The lead ship was launched on July 22, 2020 and entered factory sea trials on September 5, 2021.
The launching of the second corvette under construction Al Diriyah (tail number "830") was carried out in Cadiz on November 16, 2020, the third Ḥa'il (tail number "832") - on March 28, 2021, the fourth Jazan (tail number "834") - on July 24, 2021, and the fifth Unayzah (tail number "836") - December 4, 2021. The corvettes were named after Saudi cities.
The contract also provides for full technical support of the life cycle for five years from the date of delivery of the first ship, with an option for five years.
Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI) has signed an agreement with Navantia to establish a joint venture that will partially localize a number of electronic weapons systems for these corvettes in Saudi Arabia, and will also install and integrate them both on these ships and on other promising ships and boats of the Saudi navy. The joint venture will also provide technical support and repair of corvettes during their stay in the Saudi Arabian Navy.
Earlier in 2008-2012, Navantia had already built four patrol ships of the Avante 2200 (POVZEE) project for the Venezuelan Navy (type Guaiquerí). Unlike the Venezuelan ships, the corvettes of the modification of this project for the Saudi Arabian Navy will be more powerfully armed multifunctional ships. According to Navantia, the total displacement of these corvettes will be more than 2500 tons, the length of the hull is 104 m, the width is 14 m. A two-shaft diesel power plant with MTU engines will provide a full speed of up to 27 knots. The crew is 102 people, the autonomy is 21 days.
The armament of the Saudi ships will consist of two four-container launchers of Boeing Harpoon Block II anti-ship missiles, a 16-charge vertical launcher of the Raytheon ESSM anti-aircraft missile system, one 76-mm/62 Leonardo Super Rapid universal artillery system, one 35-mm Rheinmetall Oerlikon Millenium anti-aircraft artillery system, two small-caliber remotely controlled artillery installations, four 12.7-mm machine gun, two three-tube 324-mm torpedo tubes. A 10-ton class helicopter is based in the hangar.
A feature of the Saudi project was the widespread use of electronic systems developed and manufactured by Navantia itself - the ASBU CATIZ, the HERMESYS communication complex, the DORNA fire control system, the MINERVA "integrated bridge" and the Integrated Platform Control System for ship-wide automation. The Hensoldt TRS-3D general detection radar has been installed.
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