Navantia’s San Fernando shipyard held Friday the keel-laying event for the seventh corvette it is building for the Royal Saudi Naval Forces (RSNF). The ship, Construction No. 576, will be named HMS NEOM.
Held as a working ceremony, the event brought together representatives from programme teams of Navantia and the RSNF Staff, represented by the Director PMO ALSARAWAT Project, Cmdre. Fareed M. Alharbi, and the Project Control Office team. With this milestone, the first block of the second corvette in this series is now on the slipway; together with the first unit, HMS Al-Madinah, both vessels are preparing for launch in the coming months.
Alberto Cervantes, Director of the Corvette and Maritime Action Vessels Business Unit, thanked Navantia employees and partner industries and congratulated them on reaching this new milestone.
The final ship in this three-vessel series is scheduled for delivery in 2029. Navantia will deliver the first unit, while the second and third will be completed in Saudi Arabia, including the installation, integration and testing of the combat system, in line with the previous contract.
The order also includes an Integrated Logistic Support package and crew training, as well as an operational evaluation period by the Spanish Navy at Rota Naval Base, where Navantia will provide support services. In addition, Navantia will train around one hundred Saudi engineers under the Industrial Participation Agreement.
Overall, the contract represents around four million hours of work in the Bay of Cádiz and is expected to support up to 2,000 jobs (direct, indirect and induced employment).
Avante 2200 Model
This second series of three corvettes for Saudi Arabia will be identical to the first. The design is based on Navantia’s AVANTE 2200 model, a multi-purpose platform conceived for maritime surveillance and traffic control, search and rescue, and assistance to other ships, among other missions. The vessels also provide significant capabilities for the defence of strategic assets and intelligence, as well as anti-submarine, anti-air, anti-surface and electronic warfare.
The corvettes feature a state-of-the-art design and maximise Navantia’s contribution through the integration of in-house solutions, including the HAZEM combat system (via the SAMINavantia joint venture), the HERMESYS integrated communications system, the DORNA fire-control director, the Integrated Platform Control System and the MINERVA integrated bridge.
The vessels also incorporate propulsion engines under MTU licence, diesel generator sets and reduction gearboxes under Schelde licence. Navantia’s Repairs Business Unit will further support the programme through work carried out during the corvettes’ dry dockings in San Fernando.
