Spanish shipbuilder Navantia recently laid the keel of a new corvette slated for the Royal Saudi Naval Force (RSNF).
The ship will be identical to the Avante 2200 corvettes already in service with the RSNF. This particular ship is the final one of three that were ordered from Navantia by the Saudi Ministry of Defence in late 2024.
Navantia will be responsible for the delivery of the first unit in Spain and will finalise the second and third units in Saudi Arabia for the installation, integration and trials of the Hazem combat system to be done by SAMINavantia, similar to the works carried out on the fourth and fifth units of the earlier corvette contract.
Each ship in the class will be a multi-purpose platform specially designed for patrolling and monitoring of exclusive economic zone waters, maritime traffic surveillance and control missions, search and rescue missions and assistance to other vessels, among others.
The ship and its sisters are variants of Navantia's Avante 2000 series of corvettes, which were developed primarily for the export market. The acquisition of these corvettes makes Saudi Arabia the second country to operate the Avante 2000 ships after Venezuela.
The RSNF variants, also known as the Avante 2200 series, will feature modifications that will enable them to operate under extreme temperatures. Missions will include anti-surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, anti-air warfare, search and rescue, marine environmental protection, and humanitarian assistance.