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Navantia Launched Fourth Corvette For The Royal Saudi Navy
Navantia has launched on July 24, the fourth of the five corvettes being built for the Royal Saudi Naval Forces (RSNF), named JAZAN as a tribute to this city in the Southwest of Saudi Arabia.
Martin Manaranche 26 Jul 2021
Navantia press release
The event has been attended by the Commander of the Royal Saudi Naval Forces, Vice-Admiral Fahad Bin Abdullah Al-Ghofaily; the Admiral Chief of Staff of Spanish Navy, Admiral Antonio Martorell Lacave; the Chairwoman of Sociedad Estatal de Participaciones Industriales (SEPI), Belén Gualda; the Chairman of Navantia, Ricardo Domínguez; SAMI Vicepresident for Corporate Communications, Wael Alsarhan, on behalf of SAMI CEO, Eng. Walid Abukhaled, who has attended the ceremony remotely, and the Mayor of San Fernando, Patricia Cavada. The ceremony has taken place with strict sanitary protocols due to the pandemic.
The event has begun with a reading from the Holy Quran, followed by videos about the city of Jazan, about the Avante 2200 program and about the building of this corvette. Both the national anthems of Saudi Arabia and Spain have been played. The event has also included welcoming remarks from the manager of the shipyard and head of the Defence Programs in Navantia Bahía de Cádiz, José Antonio Rodríguez Poch.
His Excellency the Commander of the Royal Saudi Naval Forces has highlighted the importance of ALSARAWAT (Avante 2200) project as one of the major and key acquisition programs that clearly indicate the Royal Saudi Naval Forces’ commitment to achieving its ambitious goal of developing a new era of innovative and state-of-the-art capabilities aligned with Kingdom’s strategic Vision 2030.
On this special occasion, His Excellency Vice Admiral Fahad Al-Ghofaily has expressed his sincere appreciation and gratitude to the wise leadership of kingdom of Saudi Arabia for providing unlimited support to the Royal Saudi Naval Forces, without which these successful accomplishments would not have been achieved.
His Excellency has underlined that the launching of HMS JAZAN, the fourth corvette to be launched in just one year, is a significant accomplishment that amply demonstrates Navantia commitment for maintaining the program delivery and striving it success. On that note, Commander of the Royal Saudi Naval Forces has emphasized that the success of ALSARAWAT projects will establish a solid foundation for strategic partnership with Navantia.
His Excellency Vice Admiral Fahad Al-Ghofaily has also expressed his gratitude and appreciation to, Admiral Antonio Martorell Lacave, Chief of Staff of the Spanish Navy for the significant support and remarkable cooperation that the Spanish Navy has provided to Al SARAWAT project.
The Admiral Chief of Staff of Spanish Navy, Antonio Martorell Lacave, has underlined that “this corvette is an unequivocal demonstration of Spain’s industrial capability in the field of naval shipbuilding and of its strong commitment to technological innovation”. He has also valued the great effort made by Navantia for minimizing the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in the execution of this program.
Admiral Martorell Lacave has thanked Admiral Al-Ghofaily and the Royal Saudi Navy as a whole “for the confidence placed in the Spanish Navy to supervise the execution of this ambitious and pioneering naval program”, highlighting that “this the first time that the Spanish Navy has embarked on such a far-reaching naval program”.
Navantia’s Chairman Ricardo Dominguez has stressed the company’s commitment with Avante 2200 program, which he has described as “strategic”, and with Saudi Arabia.
Ricardo Domínguez has presented Navantia’s investments in order to introduce digitalization and new technologies in the shipyard and thus enhance its efficiency, “enabling the building of ships in less time and with higher quality”. He has taken the chance to welcome the Saudi crews that have started its training at the recently opened Navantia Training Centre, which is equipped with state-of-the-art technological capabilities.
He has also thanked the Spanish and Saudi Navies and the Ministries of Defence of both countries for their “invaluable collaboration and work in order to make this program a success”. Ricardo Domínguez has commended the program teams and the workers that take part in it.
Eng. Abukhaled has also expressed SAMI’s profound gratitude for His Majesty the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz, and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, for their continuous guidance and unlimited support. He also extended his appreciation for His Excellency Vice Admiral Fahad Al-Ghofaily, Commander of the Royal Saudi Naval Forces, for the confidence in SAMI.
At the end of the ceremony, the Commander of the Royal Saudi Naval Forces, Vice-Admiral Fahad Bin Abdullah Al-Ghofaily, has cut the ribbon and the corvette, after receiving the impact of the bottle with water from the Holy City of Mecca, has begun to slide down until she has touched water for the first time. The construction will continue until the delivery to the Royal Saudi Naval Forces in the month of April 2023.
During his visit to San Fernando, Commander Al-Ghofaily has visited the shipyard and the Navantia Training Centre (NTC), where the crew and the mantainers of the corvettes are being trained.
The Saudi delegation has also visited the Land Based Training Site (LBTS) and simulators and has received a presentation on the Technology Transfer (ToT) program that is part of this comprehensive contract.
-End–
About RSN Al Jubail-class / Navantia Avante 2200 corvette
The Al Jubail-class corvette (Avante 2200) has a length of 104 metres, a beam of 14 metres and will be able to accommodate 102 people (crew and additional personnel). It will reach a maximum speed of 27 knots and, among other aspects, it has the capacity to carry 21 days’ supplies on board.
The corvettes are the latest generation of successful Navantia-designed combatants, and incorporate state-of-the-art Navantia 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 together with equipment manufactured 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.
The contract includes Life Cycle Support for five years and the supply of various services such as integrated logistical support, operational and maintenance training, supply of training and training Centers for the Combat System and Platform Control System for ships, Support to the Life Cycle, previously mentioned, and the systems for the maintenance of ships in the RNSF Jeddah Naval Base.
Navantia Launched Fourth Corvette For The Royal Saudi Navy - Naval News
