The Diplomat
Navantia delivered yesterday to the Royal Saudi Navy the third of the five corvettes built in its shipyards in the Bay of Cadiz, named ‘Hail’, in a ceremony held at the shipyard in San Fernando. The delivery of the next two units will take place in Saudi Arabia.
Navantia has delivered the corvette ‘Hail’ three years after the cutting of its first plate (September 2019), complying with the quality requirements and the established deadlines. “This is one of the most competitive and capable vessels in its segment, as demonstrated in the sea trials carried out in the waters of the Bay of Cadiz,” says Navantia in a press release.
According to the Spanish company, the ships of the Al-Jubail Class, its name in the Arab Navy, offer “advanced performance, excellent sea behavior, high survivability and ability to operate at extreme temperatures”.
The first of the corvettes, the ‘Al-Jubail’, has been in service since last March and the delivery of the last one, christened ‘Unayzah’, is scheduled for 2024. The program includes, in addition to construction, support for the life cycle of the frigates for five years from the delivery of the first vessel, with an option for an additional five years.
In addition to the corvettes contract, Navantia agreed with SAMI (Saudi Arabian Military Industries) the creation of a joint venture in Saudi Arabia, which allows Navantia to position its integrated systems and technologically advanced solutions in the Arab market and its area of influence.
The delivery ceremony was attended by the Commander of the Royal Saudi Navy, Vice Admiral Fahad Bin Abdullah Al-Ghofaily; the Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism, Reyes Maroto; the President of Navantia, Ricardo Domínguez, the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of SAMI, Mohammad Alkhatani, and the Ambassador of Saudi Arabia in Spain, Azzam bin Abdulkarim al Qain, among other personalities.
The Minister of Industry, Reyes Maroto, said that “the delivery of this corvette marks a new milestone in the relations between our two countries” and added that “the memorandum signed this week is a very important step to guarantee the workload in Navantia’s shipyards during the next years”.
According to the president of Navantia, Ricardo Domínguez, this company is demonstrating that it can “design, build and deliver complex state-of-the-art ships with the highest quality standards”.
For his part, Vice Admiral Al-Ghofaily, stressed that the vessel “has been designed and built to be one of the most powerful and technologically advanced corvettes” while qualifying the program as a whole, he added, “is the largest collaboration in terms of defense industry” between the two countries and “contributes to expanding the strategic relationship between the two countries”.
