Saudi navy celebrates launch of new vessel

The ship – named Al-Jubail – was unveiled by Spanish shipbuilder Navantia. (SPA)

• The ship named Al-Jubail was unveiled by a Spanish shipbuilder earlier this week
• The newly built corvettes will feature special combat and fire control systems along with integrated communications technology

DUBAI: Royal Saudi Navy celebrated the launch of its first Avante 2200 corvette, state news agency SPA reported.
The ship – named Al-Jubail – was unveiled by Spanish shipbuilder Navantia on Wednesday and is one of the five in the Royal Saudi Naval Forces, RSNF. 
The corvettes are being built by a joint venture between Saudi Arabian Military Industries, SAMI, and Navantia, named SAMI Navantia Industries, SAMI-Navantia. They will be delivered in 2024, a year later than initially planned, and will feature special combat and fire control systems and integrated communications among other technologies.
Royal Saudi Navy Vice Admiral Fahad AL-Ghofaily and Navantia’s President Susana de Sarria attended the ceremony.