The future Royal Saudi Navy (RSN) corvette HMS Al-Madinah has entered the water for the first time at Navantia’s shipyard in Cadiz, Spain.
The vessel is the first of three new Avante 2200 warships being built for the RSN under a second contract signed between the Saudi Ministry of Defense and Navantia; the other two ships, HMS Neom and HMS Al-Ula, are also under construction.
The multipurpose corvettes are designed for surveillance and search and rescue and also have anti-submarine warfare, anti-aircraft, anti-surface, and electronic warfare capabilities. They can sail at up to 25 knots and have a maximum range of 4,500 nautical miles.
HMS Al-Madinah hit the waves for the first time on Thursday evening at Navantia’s San Fernando shipyard in a ceremony attended by dignitaries and company employees.
RSN Director of Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Saleh Al Khathami said: “Today, the sea welcomes the HMS Al- Madinah, and tomorrow it will contribute to safeguarding the Kingdom’s maritime interests and supporting regional and international stability.”
Navantia has already built and launched five such ships for the RSN; the first-in-class of these initial vessels, HMS Al-Jubail, was launched in the summer of 2020.
Navantia will be responsible for the delivery of HMS Al-Madinah. Two of the new warships are due to be delivered by the end of 2028, with unit three’s completion now slated for 2029.
As was the case for the fourth and fifth units of the previous contract, combat system installation, integration, and testing for boats two and three of Batch II will again be completed in Saudi Arabia.
Navantia’s president, Ricardo Domínguez added: “We are proud that, throughout both series of corvettes, all the ships have been delivered on time, within budget and in full alignment with our localization commitments to the Kingdom, especially with GAMI.”
- You can read more details on the Navantia website