Naval Group has launched the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Navy’s first Gowind corvette, named as ‘Bani Yas’, at its Lorient shipyard.
The corvette was launched on 6 December in the presence of UAE Naval Forces commander Sheikh Saeed bin Hamdan Al-Nahyan.
In 2019, the UAE ordered two French-made Gowind-class multi-mission corvettes.
Construction of the second corvette is underway and will be launched in 2022.
As part of the contract, Naval Group will also train the UAE Navy’s crew from the equipment level to the operational level.
The Gowind multi-mission surface combatant is currently in service with the Egyptian Navy.
The corvettes have also been selected by navies of two other nations, Naval Group stated.
Naval Group Development senior executive vice-president Alain Guillou said: “We are honoured to welcome the UAE representatives to our shipyard to attend the launching ceremony of their first Gowind corvette.
“These two surface combatants will provide the UAE Navy with new naval capabilities and this event marks a very important milestone for the programme close to the highly symbolic day of the UAE 50th anniversary.
“The Bani Yas programme illustrates Naval Group’s capability to deliver state-of-the-art products to meet specific requirements of the UAE Navy, thanks to the most advanced technologies of the SETIS Combat Management System.”
With a 102m overall hull length, the corvette has a displacement capacity of 2,800t and a maximum speed of more than 25.5k.
It can accommodate 95 members and comprises the boarding capacity for one 10t class helicopter.
