At Fincantieri’s Muggiano shipyards, near La Spezia, the first metal cutting ceremony was recently held for the first of two stealth corvettes the United Arab Emirates (UAE) ordered early this year, according to a contract also providing an option for two more FALAJ 2-class corvettes and possibly another two later on, The contract also provides for the technology transfer to local shipyards.
    
The first corvette should be delivered in mid-2012.

The FALAJ 2 will be 55 m long, 8.60 m wide and will have a maximum speed of 20 knots and a 28 men crew. The two ships will feature high flexibility in performing different mission profiles (from patrolling to self-defense, in national and international operational scenarios), as well as high accommodation and safety standards.

The UAE market, where last year Fincantieri won a first, important contract for o the ABU DHABI corvette currently being built by the Italian company at its Riva Trigoso shipyards, increasingly proves to be strategic for Fincantieri’s military and civil activities, as the establishment of the Etihad Ship Building joint venture demonstrates.