Saudi naval modernization pushes ahead, with eye always on Iran

The fourth Saudi Avante-class corvette goes into the water during production in late 2021. (Navantia)

BEIRUT — Against the backdrop of regional tensions and the potential return of the Iran nuclear deal, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is pushing ahead with an ambitious, multi-billion dollar naval fleet modernization effort that includes a quintet of new Avante 2200 corvettes.

On August 25, the first Avante 2200-class, dubbed the Al Jubail, arrived at King Faisal Naval Base in Jeddah. Saudi Arabia took possession of that first corvette in March, with a second taken into possession at the end of July. The Al-Sarawat Program, as the corvette addition is known, comes for the first time with a Saudi- made combat management system known as Hazem. The production is a joint venture between Saudi Military Industries Company (SAMI) and Spanish shipbuilder Navantia.

The corvettes, which were purchased under a 2018 agreement, are capable of multi-tasking and come equipped with air defense systems, anti-submarine warfare and Surface Warfare capabilities, Bahraini strategic expert and political researcher Abdullah Al Junaid told Breaking Defense.

All five vessels — 104 meters in length and capable of transporting around 100 people — are underway with construction, with the fifth corvette having been put into the water in Dec. 2021. Delivery of that final ship is scheduled for February 2024.

“As part of its multi-year Saudi Naval Expansion Program (SNEP-II), Saudi Arabia is reinforcing its fleets through small naval assets, such as corvettes, speedboats, OPVs. These naval assets boost Saudi Arabia’s capacity to monitor and patrol its seas and coasts from potential asymmetric attacks launched by Iranian proxies, or potentially Iran itself, against the Kingdom,” Corrado Cok, a defense expert at Gulf State Analytics think tank told breaking Defense.

He added that the newly-arrived corvette is a case in point. “This warship is designed for surveillance and control operations with the capacity to host a helicopter of up to ten tons. On top of that, Navantia tailored it to the Royal Saudi Navy by installing additional combat systems, enhancing their survivability at sea and making them resilient to extreme temperatures.”

The corvettes are scheduled to join Saudi’s Western fleet, meaning the ships will not be deployed in the Arab or Persian Gulf next to Iran but instead to protect the roughly 1,800 kilometers of Saudi’s Red Sea coastline and safeguard the navigation of the Gulf of Aden, located directly beside Yemen, where Iranian proxy Houthi forces are based.

“It will play a major role in combating terrorism and piracy and securing navigation in Saudi and international waters in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden,” Al Junaid said.

Countering Threats In The Gulf

Attacks in the Red Sea and the Arabian Gulf threatening navigation and naval assets are ongoing.

On August 30, an Iranian ship attempted to seize an American unmanned surface vessel operating in the Arabian Gulf, but US fifth fleet intervened and thwarted the attempt. That same day, a US Coast Guard fast response cutter interdicted a fishing vessel smuggling illegal drugs worth an estimated $20 million while patrolling the Gulf of Oman. Then just days later, an Iranian boat grabbed two more US unmanned systems and brought them aboard a ship before eventually dumping them overboard.

The Saudis are looking to address both direct attacks carried out by the Houthis on commercial and civilian relief ships, as well as Somali organizations active in piracy, human trafficking and arms and drugs smuggling. Those Somali ships have also cooperated with the Houthis in transporting African fighters to fight with them in Yemen.

“The Royal Saudi Navy already faces a number of asymmetrical threats from air and sea. The Houthi rebel group has launched repeated attacks through explosive-laden boats in the southern Red Sea, including a relevant strike against an oil tanker in the port of Jeddah in December 2020,” Cok said.

“On top of that, Iranian proxies in Iraq and Yemen have hit the Kingdom with drones and ballistic missiles on multiple occasions. If the confrontation with Iran escalated, Tehran and its local allies could launch missiles and drones also across the Gulf. Arms smuggling into Yemen is yet another threat to Saudi security and part of it follows maritime routes across the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, a reason that raised the attention of Saudi Arabia and the UAE in the Horn of Africa since 2015,” he commented on the threats.

Against this background, Cok stressed that the Avante 2200 provides suitable solutions to counter both aerial threats and a wide range of maritime targets, being equipped with torpedoes, ESSM surface-to-air and anti-ship Harpoon missiles and Leonardo’s super rapid 76mm main gun system. Torpedoes are also instrumental to match Iran’s submarine assets.

Indigenous Capabilities

But the corvette deal isn’t just about securing Saudi’s territorial waters. As with all defense deals, the Kingdom has an eye on technology transfer that can lead to the Saudi Vision 2030 effort, an ambitious set of economic targets set out by crown prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud.

Part of that technology transfer from the Sami Navantia joint venture has led to the creation of the first Saudi Arabian Naval combat system, known as “Hazem,” which has now been integrated onto the first Al Jubail Avante 2200. Hazem includes a combat management system, integrated communication system, combat system integration, integrated platform management system, fire control system and a training system — the brains of a modern-day ship.

Al Junaid believes the local production could help make the integration and training of the system easier for the Saudi fleet. But it has other benefits, as Cok noted — developing the Saudi manufacturing sector and creating employment for Saudi citizens, which are two pivotal goals of Vision 2030.

Of course, the corvette program is only one part of the modernization effort. In 2018, a contract was signed with US firm Lockheed Martin for four Multi-Mission Surface Combatant (MMSC), based on the US Navy’s Freedom-class Littoral Combat Ship; the first cut of steel of MMSC 1 took place on October 24th, 2019 while that of MMSC 2 happened January 28th, 2021. Those are expected to serve in the Saudi Eastern fleet.

And in 2019, Saudi Arabia signed an agreement with France’s Naval Group to build warships and frigates in the Kingdom, through a joint venture in which SAMI holds 51% stake while Naval Group holds the remaining 49%. However, there has been little news about progress since.

In addition, Al Junaid noted Saudi is currently operating three Al Riyadh (F3000S) Class multipurpose anti-air warfare frigates, built by DCN of France for the Royal Saudi Naval Forces and commissioned in 2002. Though older, those frigates are able to operate in blue waters and played a key role during the 2015 anti-Houthi effort known as Operation Decisive Storm.

One interesting wrinkle to watch, as Saudi Arabia continues to modernize: could it look towards Beijing? Chinese President Xi Jingping expected to visit KSA in the near future, one month after the US president’s visit to the Gulf country, and Xi would certainly love to tighten ties with Riyadh.

“China’s arms sales to the Middle East have been in narrow areas, and they have not been in the maritime space. While I wouldn’t be surprised to see Saudi Arabia acquire some niche capabilities from China, I’d be very surprised to see Saudi Arabia turn away from a fundamental reliance on Western systems for training, maintenance and logistics,” Jon Alterman, director of the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told Breaking Defense.

Cok, however, is more open to the idea. “Yes, the visit of Xi could open to new arms sales to Saudi Arabia, including naval assets like China did with Pakistan. This is yet unlikely to shift Saudi interest in Western, and particularly US, naval technology. When it comes to interoperability, the recent drills around Taiwan have shown that Beijing is enhancing its capability to coordinate its land, naval and air forces, but still it has to close a large gap with the US and its Western allies,” he said.