Navantia launched HMS Neom, the seventh Avante 2200 corvette built for the Royal Saudi Naval Forces (RSNF), at its San Fernando shipyard in the Bay of Cádiz on October 25, 2026. Neom is the second hull of a three-ship follow-on batch and follows sister ship HMS Almadinah, launched at the same yard on June 18, 2026.
RSNF Chief of Staff Vice Admiral Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Ghuraybi and Navantia Chairman Ricardo Domínguez presided over the ceremony. Domínguez said “launching one ship every four months is in line with the industrial schedule” set for the contract. The Saudi Ministry of Defense signed the three-ship order in Riyadh on December 11, 2024, building on a five-ship first batch, led by HMS Al Jubail, that Navantia built between 2019 and 2024 under a July 2018 contract valued at approximately €1.8 billion.
Avante 2200 Corvette Propulsion, Combat System, and Weapons Fit
Navantia states that the second batch is identical to the first: a multipurpose Avante 2200 hull built for exclusive economic zone patrol, maritime traffic control, and search and rescue, adapted for the RSNF to operate in extreme temperatures. Navantia lists intelligence, anti-submarine, anti-air, anti-surface, and electronic warfare among its mission sets.
Publicly available specifications indicate a length of about 99 meters, a beam of 13.6 meters, a draught of 3.8 meters, and a displacement of roughly 2,400 tonnes. Propulsion is a combined diesel and diesel (CODAD) arrangement of four MTU 12V 1163 TB93 engines, each rated at 4,440 kW, driving two shafts. Open sources credit the class with a top speed of 24 to 27 knots and a range of 3,500 to 4,500 nautical miles at 18 knots, depending on the source.
The reported weapons fit comprises a Leonardo 76 mm Super Rapid gun, a Rheinmetall Millennium 35 mm close-in weapon system, a Mk 41 vertical launch system for RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow Missiles (ESSM), Harpoon Block II anti-ship missiles, two triple torpedo tubes, and four 12.7 mm machine guns. A flight deck and hangar accommodate a helicopter of up to 10 tonnes. The ESSM and Millennium pairing gives each hull layered point and local-area air defense, relevant to the drone and anti-ship missile threat seen in the Red Sea since late 2023.
Command and control runs through HAZEM, described in open sources as a Saudi-tailored derivative of Navantia’s CATIZ combat management system, supplied by SAMINavantia, the joint venture between Navantia and Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI). It is paired with the HERMESYS integrated communications system, the DORNA fire-control director, and the MINERVA integrated bridge.
How SAMINavantia Will Finish Neom’s Combat System in Saudi Arabia
Under the contract’s work split, Navantia will deliver Almadinah in Spain. Neom and the third hull will sail to Saudi Arabia, where SAMINavantia will install, integrate, and test the HAZEM combat system, the same model applied to HMS Jazan and HMS Unayzah, the fourth and fifth ships of the first contract. Al-Ghuraybi said Neom now moves into systems integration, testing, sea trials, and training ahead of full operational readiness. He tied the ship’s name to Neom, one of the flagship projects of Saudi Vision 2030.
The follow-on contract goes further on localization than the first. It includes training for more than 100 Saudi engineers, fabrication of blocks for the third corvette in Saudi Arabia, and the transfer of Avante 2200 design intellectual property rights to the General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI), opening the way to Saudi production of future corvettes and potential exports.
An Implementing Agreement between the RSNF and the Spanish Navy adds an integrated logistics support package, crew training, and an operational evaluation period at Rota Naval Base, where Navantia will provide support services. In Spain, the program represents approximately four million working hours for the Bay of Cádiz and an average of 2,200 skilled jobs per day across the San Fernando and Puerto Real facilities, with more than 20 subcontractors and 50 suppliers involved.
Analysis: The second batch is less a capacity buy than an industrial transfer. Three hulls add modestly to the fleet; moving combat system integration, block fabrication, and design ownership into Saudi hands gives Riyadh a sovereign path to build and sustain Avante-derived corvettes in line with Vision 2030 localization targets. The trade-off is schedule exposure: Navantia now cites 2029 for the final delivery, a year later than the 2028 target announced at signature, and two of the three hulls depend on in-country integration capacity.
Almadinah is next in line for sea trials ahead of delivery in Spain. Navantia has not disclosed a launch date for the third hull, although the stated four-month cadence, if maintained, would place it around February 2027. Open questions include when Neom will be transferred to Saudi Arabia for integration, and whether the Kingdom will use the transferred design rights to order Saudi-built hulls.
