Saudi Navy’s second Avante 2200-class corvette enters service

Spanish shipbuilder Navantia has held a commissioning ceremony for the second of five corvettes being built for the Royal Saudi Navy, Al-Diriyah.

As informed, the ceremony took place today (26 July) at San Fernando Shipyard. The corvette was officially launched in November 2020.

Al-Diriyah has a length of 104 meters, a beam of 14 meters, and will be capable of transporting a total of 102 people. It can reach a maximum speed of 27 knots and has the capacity to carry supplies for 21 days.

Spain and Saudi Arabia finalized Avante 2200 corvette deal worth around €2 billion in April 2018. The first corvette of the class Al-Jubail was commissioned in March this year.

The vessels incorporate Navantia’s products, such as the CATIZ Combat System, DORNA Gun Fire Control System, NAVCOMS/HERMESYS Integrated External and Internal Communications System, MINERVA Integrated Navigation and Bridge System, or COMPLEX-SIMPLEX Integrated Platform Management Platform

They also include equipment manufactured together by Navantia under license such as the Leonardo SUPER RAPID 76mm main gun, Rheinmetall Air Defence MILLENNIUM 35mm close-in weapon system, MTU propulsion engines and diesel generators, and RENK gearboxes.