Spanish yard lays keel of future Saudi corvette

Spanish shipbuilder Navantia laid the keel of a future Avante 2200 corvette for the Royal Saudi Naval Forces (RSNF) during a ceremony on Friday, May 8.

The future Neom will be identical to the Avante 2200 ships already in service with the RSNF. This particular ship is one of three that were ordered from Navantia by the Saudi Arabia Ministry of Defence in late 2024.

Navantia will be responsible for the delivery of the first unit in Spain and will finalise Neom and another ship 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 an earlier corvette contract.