Falaj 3 programme proceeds to contract award
Design concept image of the Falaj 3 OPV. (Photo: ADSB)
Abu Dhabi Ship Building received a contract to build four new OPVs for the UAE Navy.
Abu Dhabi Ship Building (ADSB) announced on 18 May that it has officially signed an AED3.5 billion ($952.8 million) contract with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) MoD to build four Falaj 3-class offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) for the UAE Navy.
This is the largest-ever order for ADSB from the UAE Navy, exceeding the value of the Baynunah-class corvette programme.
ADSB received a letter of award from the UAE MoD in Q4 2020 to build the four vessels.
Their delivery date remains undisclosed, however.
Khalid Al Breiki, ADSB chairman and president of the Mission Support cluster in EDGE (which owns 40% of the shipbuilder), said the order will provide ADSB ‘with a platform for sustainable profitable growth, while maintaining strategic national assets that are critical to the defence of the UAE’.
All four Falaj 3 OPVs will be built locally and ADSB will also be responsible for systems integration.
Shephard reported from NAVDEX 2021 in February that ADSB displayed a scale model of the 60m-long, 641t Falaj 3 patrol vessel. The design appears to be based on the Fearless-class patrol vessels built by Singapore Technologies in the 1990s, with reduced radar cross-section, IR and acoustic signatures.
Falaj 3 will be powered by four engines driving four propellers, allowing the OPVs to exceed 26kt.
The scale model at NAVDEX showed a 30mm cannon and various missile types.
Related Programmes in Defence Insight
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
More from Naval Warfare
-
![Shoreline vulnerability drives Gulf interest in USV networks]()
Shoreline vulnerability drives Gulf interest in USV networks
Ukraine’s combat-proven Magura uncrewed surface vessel is attracting Gulf state interest as the Iran war exposes gaps in layered maritime air defence, raising questions about whether low-cost attritable systems can gain a foothold in a procurement culture historically drawn to high-end Western platforms.
-
![Sweden swayed by speed to capability in French frigate win]()
Sweden swayed by speed to capability in French frigate win
Naval Group has secured a contract to supply four Frégate de Défense et d’Intervention frigates to the Royal Swedish Navy, extending the French naval industry’s reach into Northern Europe and showing why speed to capability has become the defining criterion in today’s defence procurement contests.
-
![SOF Week 2026: US NSW explores 3D-printed USVs for forward-deployed operations]()
SOF Week 2026: US NSW explores 3D-printed USVs for forward-deployed operations
US Naval Special Warfare Command is assessing the feasibility of rapidly producing expendable mid-sized USVs in theatre to support SOF and maritime security missions.
-
![SOF Week 2026: MARSOC selects upgraded Shark Marine dive navigation system]()
SOF Week 2026: MARSOC selects upgraded Shark Marine dive navigation system
MARSOC is procuring the Shark Marine Dive Tablet 2 to address a longstanding combat diver navigation capability gap, improving underwater positioning, situational awareness and integration with existing diver propulsion vehicles.
