MADRID - Under the patronage of the Commander of the Naval Forces, Lieutenant-General Fahd bin Abdullah Al-Ghufaili, the Royal Saudi Naval Forces celebrated the floating ceremony of the fifth and final ship of the Sarwat Corvette Project “Avante 2200”, which was officially named “His Majesty King Unaiza’s ship”, as part of the floating ceremony in a construction dock. Navantia ships in San Fernando, Cadiz province, Spain.

The military attaché at the Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Madrid, Deputy Governor of the General Authority for Military Industries for the Military Procurement Sector, Muhammad bin Saleh Al-Athel, a number of senior officers of the Royal Saudi Naval Forces, a number of senior officials from the Spanish Navy and representatives from the companies “Sami Navantia” and “Navantia” participated in the floatation ceremony. Spanish” as well as others.

At the ceremony, the Commander of the Naval Forces, Lieutenant-General Fahd bin Abdullah Al-Ghufaili, expressed his happiness at the floating of His Majesty the King’s ship “Onaiza”, praising the unlimited support of the wise leadership of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia under the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and his trusted Crown Prince. His Royal Highness Prince Muhammad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, and His Royal Highness Prince Khalid bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Deputy Minister of Defense - may God preserve them -.

He explained that the ships of the Sarawat project are distinguished by having the latest combat systems to deal with all air, surface and subsurface threats, as well as electronic warfare, noting that the Sarawat project will contribute to raising the level of readiness of the Royal Saudi Naval Forces, enhancing maritime security in the region and protecting the vital strategic interests of the Kingdom, so that The ships of the project are an important addition to the capabilities of the Royal Saudi Naval Forces in protecting the Kingdom's maritime interests and localizing technically advanced military industries, making these systems sustainable for decades.

The Director of Projects Department at the Naval Forces, Rear Admiral Saleh bin Ali Al Khathami, indicated that the Naval Battle Management System “Hazm” and the other combat systems of the ships of His Majesty the King “Jazan and Unaizah” will be integrated in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as a stage of localization and technology transfer to achieve the objectives of the Kingdom’s vision (2030). With regard to the localization of military industries, which contributes to the sustainability of naval systems, adding that the first ship of the project is now conducting sea trials and acceptance tests, and its staff from the Royal Saudi Naval Forces are currently receiving in the Kingdom of Spain the theoretical and practical training necessary to prepare the ship to sail to the Kingdom To organize for the fleet of the Royal Saudi Naval Forces.

For his part, the CEO of SAMI, Engineer Walid bin Abdul Majeed Abu Khaled, expressed his pride in the successes achieved by the company through its strategic partnership with the Royal Saudi Naval Forces and the Spanish company Navantia, which was crowned with receiving the fifth and final ship of His Majesty the King “Onaiza”. As part of the Sarawat project to build five ships of the corvette type “Avante 2200”, which contributed to achieving many achievements that we are proud of, such as the establishment of the “Sami Navantia” joint venture, in addition to the launch of the “Hazm” system, which is the first 100% Saudi marine operations management system. Developed through technology transfer from Navantia, and the launch of an on-the-job training program in which 21 Saudi male and female engineers participated.