The United Arab Emirates (UAE) Navy's first Baynunah Class corvette has completed its initial sea trials in the Cherbourg waters off the French coast.
The multimission naval corvettes feature cutting-edge combat systems with the capability to perform a wide range of military operations and a design that allows additional equipment to support future underwater operations.
Additional features of the ship include the latest electronic sensor technology, newly developed missiles and guns, and the latest communications technology that facilitates both voice and data communications with the naval fleet, land based forces and supporting military aircraft.
The Baynunah corvette will undergo missions including peacetime patrols in the UAE's territorial waters and wider exclusive economic zone, along with surveillance, maritime interdiction, support to land forces and protection of ports and UAE-flagged vessels.
In 2003, the UAE awarded a contract to French shipbuilder Constructions Mécaniques de Normandie (CMN) for the construction of a 72m multimission corvette to provide the UAE Navy with the capability to conduct sustained operations throughout the Gulf region.
First-of-class Baynunah is scheduled to undergo additional sea trials before its delivery to the UAE Navy in mid 2011.
