Tag Archives: AVANTE 2200

Navy

AVANTE 2200 Programme

Navantia delivered the second of the five corvettes built for the Royal Saudi Navy Forces (RSNF) in its shipyards at the Bay of Cadiz, the construction 547, named HMS Al-Diriyah (830), in a ceremony held at its San Fernando facilities.

HMS Al-Diriyah (830)
Navantia delivers corvette HMS Al-Diriyah (830) to Royal Saudi Naval Forces

Hosted by Navantia’s Chairman and CEO, Ricardo Dominguez, the ceremony was attended by the commander of RSNF, Vice Admiral Fahad Bin Abdullah Al-Ghofaily; SAMI CEO, Mr. Walid Abukhaled; Spanish Secretary of State for Defense, Ms. María Amparo Valcarce; Spanish Navy Procurement Director, Admiral Aniceto Rosique and other local authorities.

HMS Al-Diriyah (830) has been delivered to the Royal Saudi Navy three years after its first cut of steel (May 2019), meeting demanding deadlines despite the health pandemic and global supply stress. The corvette is one of the most competitive and capable vessels in its segment, as it has been confirmed in the sea trials undergone in the Bay of Cadiz.

The commissioning ceremony took place in accordance with military protocol. An inspection commission (made up by members of RSNF and Navantia) has boarded the corvette to carry out the mandatory review. At the end, the ship’s flag was raised, after which the Saudi Navy transferred command of the corvette to the commander of HMS Al-Diriyah (830). Navantia Chairman has given Vice Admiral Al-Ghofaily the ship’s bell as a ceremonial gift.

In the event, Vice Admiral Al-Ghofaily highlighted that «Alsarawat and many other RSNF ambitious acquisition programs are a clear commitment of the Royal Saudi Naval Forces toward fulfilling the strategic goals of the kingdom vision 2030 by creating a new era of sophisticated and efficient Naval capabilities to face the challenges of today and tomorrow while increasing the strength of National domestic military industry».

He emphasized that he commissioning marks the final and major milestone of her manufacturing life, that lasted for 38 months during which best technologies were devoted to her construction and integration with the leading-edge combat systems. Since last January, the ship has gone through intensive sea trials to become, today, ready and fully capable to perform her assigned missions protecting the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and defending its interests. He added that such significant achievement «is a clear indication of Navantia’s capabilities and its determination to attain remarkable success in Alsarawat project».

His excellency Vice Admiral Al-Ghofaily expressed his «sincere gratitude and appreciation to His Majesty the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosque King Salman bin Abdulaziz, His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, and His Royal Highness Prince Khalid bin Salman, Deputy Minister of Defense, God bless them all, for the endless support that they always give to the Royal Saudi Naval Forces».

Spanish Secretary of State for Defense stated that «this ship is an excellent example of the quality of the Spanish shipyards, of the industrial and commercial cooperation between our countries, which has guaranteed the economic activity of more than a hundred companies and 6,000 jobs in the Bay of Cadiz. To the corvette HMS Al-Diriyah (830), to her officers and crew peace, fair sea and winds».

Mr. Ricardo Dominguez expressed gratefulness for «the contribution and collaboration of everyone involved in the great task carried out by the shipyard delivering state-of-the-art products and services and thus showing the world the capabilities» of the company.

«Arabia has relied on Navantia to provide a decisive capacity to achieve the country’s strategic objectives in the maritime field, and Navantia is willing to contribute further to enrich and support any initiative to create a local capability for naval shipbuilding, as a trustful and reliable partner», he said.

The director of Navantia’s corvettes programme, José Antonio Rodríguez Poch, has also thanked the workforce, the auxiliary and support industry, the Navy and the classification societies for their contribution to the success of the programme.

The CEO of SAMI has stated that «this is a moment of both achievement and pride for the Saudi Defense industry as the Royal Saudi Naval Forces fleet officially commissions HMS Al-Diriyah (830)».

«This could not have been possible without the support and guidance we continue to receive from the wise leadership of our beloved country. I would also like to extend our appreciation and gratitude to the Royal Saudi Naval Forces for their trust in us. Our cooperation with Navantia resulted in the establishment of our joint venture, SAMINavantia, which developed the first Saudi naval Combat Management System – HAZEM, thus contributing to the localization of the defense sector through the transfer of technology and nurturing our exceptional Saudi talents. We will continue to leverage the unique strengths of our partnerships with leading global OEMs to support the development of a self-sufficient national defense ecosystem and pave the way for projects of similar scope and scale to be established entirely within the Kingdom», stated Mr. Abukhaled.

 

THE AVANTE 2200 PROGRAMME

The HMS Al-Diriyah (830) corvette has a length of 104 meters/341 feet, a beam of 14 meters/46 feet and seating for a total of 102 people between crew and passengers. The contract for the construction of five corvettes entered into force in November 2018 and, since the launch of the first unit (July 2020), Navantia launched the five units with a period of four months between each one of them, which meant achieving this milestone in a record time of three years.

The corvettes are based on the AVANTE 2200 design, adapted to the requirements of the RSNF, offering advanced performance, excellent work at sea, high survivability, and ability to operate in extreme temperatures.

Simultaneously, around 500 crew members of these corvettes are completing the education and training process at the Navantia Training Centre (NTC) in San Fernando.

In addition to the corvette contract, Navantia agreed with Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI) to create a joint venture in Saudi Arabia, an alliance that allows Navantia to position its integrated systems and technologically advanced solutions in the Arab market and area of influence and is aligned with the company’s internationalization strategy.

The contract assumes a global workload of around seven million hours and 6,000 jobs over five years. Of these, more than 1,100 are direct employees, more than 1,800 collaborating industry employees (more than a hundred companies participate at the programme) and more than 3,000 indirect employees generated by other suppliers.

The program includes, in addition to construction, the Life Cycle Support for five years from the delivery of the first ship, with an option for another five additional years, the last ship of which must be delivered in 2024.

It also includes the provision of various services, such as integrated logistics support, operational and maintenance training, provision of Education and Training Centres for the Combat System and Platform Control System of ships, Life Cycle Support, and ship maintenance systems at the Jeddah Naval Base.

Navy

AVANTE 2200 corvette

Riyadh: Saudi Arabian Military industries announced the signature of A JV agreement for the design and construction of five (5) AVANTE 2200 corvettes with Navantia. The program will start this autumn and the last unit to be delivered by 2022.

The scope of work includes the installation and integration of the combat systems on the last ship of the JV, the logistics support, training programs and simulators required for the ships’ maintenance as well as the ground testing bases
The scope of work includes the installation and integration of the combat systems on the last ship of the JV, the logistics support, training programs and simulators required for the ships’ maintenance as well as the ground testing bases

In line with the contract, Navantia and Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI) have agreed on the establishment of a Joint Venture (JV) in Saudi Arabia, which will provide an exceptional opportunity to consolidate the position of the integrated systems and technologically advanced solutions provided by Navantia in the Saudi market and area of influence, perfectly aligned with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 by localizing 50% of the total military spending by 2030.

The contract will generate 6,000 direct and indirect jobs for five years, as follows: 1,100 direct jobs, more than 1,800 from the auxiliary industry, and more than 3,000 indirect jobs generated by other suppliers.

In this respect, the JV will focus on program management and combat system integration and ‎installation, system engineering, system architecture, hardware design, software ‎development, testing and verification, prototyping, simulation, modelling, and through-life support.

H.E. Ahmed Al-Khateeb, Chairman of Saudi Arabian Military Industries, said: «SAMI remains committed to being a key enabler of the Saudi Vision 2030, and the establishment of this Joint Venture with Navantia will localize more than 60% of ships combat systems works including, installation, and integration, which contribute in Kingdoms objective to be at the forefront of shaping the local military industries ecosystem. We will continue to explore collaborations and leverage partnerships that meet our key mandate to localize more than half of the Kingdom’s total military spending».

Mr. Esteban Garcia Vilasánchez, Chairman of Navantia, said: «Navantia is very happy with the signature of this contract that means a starting point for the collaboration with Saudi Arabia. Navantia is committed to contributing to Saudi Vision 2030 and will support the country in this endeavour. The Joint Venture between SAMI and Navantia is an opportunity to develop capabilities in the country and jointly explore future opportunities».

For the AVANTE 2200 contract, the JV will be responsible, among others, of supplying the Combat System of all five ships. Corvettes 4th and 5th will be finalised and deliver in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where the JV will do the installation, integration and test of the complete Combat System.

The JV will contribute to raising the RSNF capabilities to encounter potential threats, maintaining the readiness of the Royal Saudi Naval Forces fleets. In addition, the agreement will create approximately 1,000 jobs and training opportunities for Saudi engineers in the Kingdom and augment the participation of Saudi youth in the industry, contributing towards the objectives of the Kingdom’s comprehensive Vision 2030 plan.

 

Complete and Integral Scope of Supply

In reference to the AVANTE 2200 design, the corvettes have been adapted to the Royal Saudi Naval Forces requirements, providing high-end performances, including excellent seaworthiness, high survivability, as well as the capability to operate in the extreme temperatures of the region, all within an optimized lifecycle cost.

The innovative design maximizes Navantia’s participation in the program by means of incorporating its own products such as the CATIZ combat management system, HERMESYS integrated communications system, DORNA gun fire-control system, Integrated Platform Management System, MINERVA integrated bridge, as well as the engines and reduction gears.

Finally, yet importantly, the contract includes other services into the scope of supply as integrated logistics support, operational and maintenance training, delivery of a training centre for the ships’ combat management system and Integrated Platform Management System, through-life support, and the combat systems maintenance program.

 

Missions

The AVANTE 2200 corvette is a multirole vessel designed specifically for surveillance and maritime control, search and rescue, providing assistance to other vessels and other missions. Furthermore, the vessels will have an impressive capability to protect strategic assets, intelligence gathering, as well as anti-submarine, anti-air, anti-surface and electronic warfare.