According to Spanish media, Saudi Arabia has finally signed the contract for five Avante 2200 corvettes for the Royal Saudi Navy. The deal, worth 1.8 Billion Euros, was signed during the visit of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Madrid, Spain. The negotiations started three years ago. The program will start at the end of 2018 and the last vessel will be delivered in 2022.
Computer rendering of the Avante 2200 corvettes for the Royal Saudi Navy. Navantia image.
A Navantia statement mentionned that the contract signed with Saudi Arabia represents the largest in the history of Spanish public shipyards with a foreign client. This contract strengthens the immediate future of Navantia and will benefit all the shipyards of the company.
This contract, which has been negotiated with the kingdom of Saudi Arabia since 2015, will involve a global workload of around seven million hours for the shipyards of Bahía de Cádiz, Ría de Ferrol and Cartagena and their auxiliary industry. It is, therefore, a key contract to guarantee the work activity of Navantia, mainly for its shipyards in Bahía de Cádiz. The program will start at the end of 2018 and the last vessel will be delivered in 2022. In addition, Navantia will be responsible for Life Cycle Support for five years, from the delivery of the first vessel, with an option for an additional five years.
The corvettes will be based on the Avante 2200 and adapted to the requirements of the Royal Saudi Navy, offering advanced features, among which stand out an excellent sea keeping, high survival capacity and operating capacity at extreme temperatures in the area of the Gulf, all with an optimum life cycle cost.
The design of the corvettes is state-of-the-art, maximizing at the same time the participation of Navantia incorporating its own products such as the CATIZ combat system, the HERMESYS integrated communications system, the DORNA firing direction, the Integrated Platform Control System, the MINERVA integrated bridge and motors and gearboxes. On the other hand, the contract also includes the supply of various services such as integrated logistic support, operational and maintenance training, supply of Training and Training Centers for the Combat System and Platform Control System of ships, Support for Life Cycle, and the systems for the maintenance of the ships in the Naval Base.
Creation of a Joint Venture with SAMI
Navantia has agreed with the Saudi state company SAMI (Saudi Arabian Military Industries) the creation of a Joint Venture (JV) in Saudi Arabia.
This alliance benefits NAVANTIA and allows to strengthen the defense programs in Saudi Arabia, reinforcing its economy in line with the Vision 2030 promoted by the Government of this country.
This Joint Venture is an exceptional opportunity to position integrated systems
Computer rendering of the Avante 2200 corvettes for the Royal Saudi Navy. Saudi Arabian Military Industries image.
Earlier in 2008-2012, Navantia had already built four patrol ships of the project Avante 2200 (POVZEE) for the Navy of Venezuela (Guaiquerí-class). In contrast to the Venezuelan vessels, the Saudi corvettes will be more powerfull and more multirole.
Based on the above rendering, the armament of the Saudi ships will be consist of:
- 2x4 Boeing Harpoon Block II anti-ship missiles
- 16x vertical launchers for Raytheon ESSM surface to air missiles
- 1x 76 mm Leonardo Super Rapid naval gun system
- 1x 35mm Rheinmetall Oerlikon Millenium CIWS
- 2x remote weapon stations
- 2x triple 324-mm torpedo launchers.
- 2x CHAFF decoy launchers
- 1x Multi function radar (possibly TRS-3D)
- A hangar and helicopter pad to accommodate a 10-ton class helicopter.
According to the data from Navantia, the total displacement of these corvettes is over 2,500 tons, the length of the hull is 98.9 m. The two diesel power plants will provide a speed of up to 25 knots. The crew will consist of 92 sailors.
