Navantia lays the keel of Saudi Arabia’s eighth corvette

Spanish shipbuilder Navantia has laid the keel of the eighth corvette it is building for the Royal Saudi Naval Forces. In a ceremony on 2 July 2026 at the San Fernando shipyard in the Bay of Cádiz, construction formally began on Al Ula (hull number C/577), an Avante 2200-class vessel.

Program scope

Al Ula is one of three ships in the second batch of corvettes destined for Saudi Arabia, all scheduled for delivery by 2029. The first of that batch, Al Madinah, was launched on 18 June 2026. The combat systems of the second and third ships will be installed and tested in Saudi Arabia under a technology-transfer arrangement that aligns with Riyadh’s drive to build up its domestic naval industry.

The Avante 2200 class

The Avante 2200 is a multi-role platform able to conduct maritime surveillance, search and rescue, traffic control and operational support. It is fitted for anti-submarine, anti-air, anti-surface and electronic-warfare missions, with MTU-licensed propulsion and Navantia-developed combat, communications and control systems.

Industrial and training footprint

The project goes well beyond ship delivery. Navantia provides integrated logistics support, trains roughly 100 Saudi engineers, and runs operational evaluation at Rota with Spanish Navy support. According to the company, the program generates around four million working hours in the Bay of Cádiz region and up to 2,000 direct and indirect jobs.

Regional meaning

Gulf states are accelerating investment in maritime security, with threats to sea lanes in the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf pushing Saudi Arabia to modernize its surface fleet — a modernization built around the Avante 2200 corvettes. It is a market Türkiye’s defense industry watches closely: Ankara exported ADA-class (MİLGEM) corvettes to Pakistan, is fielding the İSTİF-class frigate, and is in talks with several Gulf states over naval platforms — a reminder of how fiercely European and Turkish yards compete for these orders.