Navantia delivers the corvette "Hail" to the Saudi Navy, the third of those built in Cadiz

Navantia delivered to the Royal Saudi Navy the third of the five corvettes built at its shipyard in the Bay of Cadiz, named "Hail", in a ceremony held at the San Fernando shipyard. 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. "It 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," Navantia said in a press release.

According to the Spanish company, the ships of the Al-Jubail Class, as they are known in the Arab Navy, offer "advanced performance, excellent sea behaviour, high survivability and the ability to operate in 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. In addition to construction, the programme includes support for the life cycle of the frigates for five years from the delivery of the first vessel, with an option for a further 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 award 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 Saudi Arabian Ambassador to 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 towards guaranteeing the workload at Navantia's shipyards for the coming years".

According to the president of Navantia, Ricardo Domínguez, the company is demonstrating that it can "design, build and deliver complex, state-of-the-art vessels with the highest quality standards".

Vice Admiral Al-Ghofaily, for his part, stressed that the vessel "has been designed and built to be one of the most powerful and technologically advanced corvettes" while he described the programme as a whole, adding that it "is the largest collaboration in terms of defence industry" between the two countries and "contributes to expanding the strategic relationship between the two countries".