The Government of Saudi Arabia will commission Navantia and a local shipyard to design and build five multi-mission combat ships for the Royal Saudi Navy. The agreement was signed on Wednesday in Riyadh, capital of the Persian Gulf country, in the presence of the Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism, Reyes Maroto and the Saudi Defense Minister, Prince Khalid Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saudand other Saudi authorities.
Saudi Deputy Defense Minister Khaled bin Hussein Al-Bayari; the governor of the General Authority of Military Industries (GAMI), Ahmad Al-Ohaliand the president of Navantia, Ricardo Domínguez, have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that should result in a contract throughout 2023. “The requirements of the vessel will be defined in the contract,” the company toldInfodefensa.com. Therefore, a phase of negotiation of the characteristics of the future vessel begins from now on.
The signing was attended by the Saudi Chief of Staff, General Fayyad bin Hamed Al-Ruwaili; the commander of the Royal Saudi Navy, Vice AdmiralFahad Bin Abdullah Al-Ghofailyand the Spanish ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Jorge Hevia.
This is the second order from Saudi Arabia to Navantia. The Spanish shipyard has already passed the equator of the construction program of five corvettes for the Royal Saudi Navy in San Fernando (Cádiz) that started in 2018. On December 4, the third one, Hail, will be delivered in an act at the San Fernando shipyard, while the fourth and fifth will be delivered in Saudi Arabia.