Saudi Arabia inks deal with Spain to advance shipbuilding localisation
Pictured is the second Avante 2200-derived corvette for Saudi Arabia, Al Diriyah. (Photo: Navantia)
A deal with the Spanish shipbuilder is set to support Saudi Arabia’s goal of fully localising critical shipbuilding skills.
The Saudi Arabian MoD and General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI) have signed an MoU with Spanish shipbuilder Navantia to acquire and build multi-mission combat ships. No indication was given as to whether these would be based on an existing design.
The deal seeks to improve the readiness of the Royal Saudi Naval Forces and support the Kingdom’s strategic goal to fully localise shipbuilding, integration of combat systems and ship maintenance.
The MoU will also focus on combat systems integration, systems design and engineering, hardware design, software development, testing, verification and other skills.
The agreement expands on Navantia’s existing relationship
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