Second Gowind Corvette Al Emarat will Transit to UAE Soon
France’s Naval Group has delivered the second Gowind corvette built for the United Arab Emirates Navy with the multi-mission ship scheduled to arrive in Abu Dhabi in August.
Al Emarat is the second Gowind® corvette ordered by the UAE to Naval Group in 2019. Built in Lorient and launched in May 2022, she started her sea trials in October 2023, at the time when the first corvette, Bani Yas, was delivered.
The June 27 delivery ceremony took place in Lorient, in the presence of a delegation of the UAE Navy, led by Deputy Commander of the Navy, Brigadier Abdulla Al Mehairbi.
The Al Emarat crew will continue in France its operational ship training provided as part of the service solutions offered by Naval Group. The ship will begin its transit to the UAE under the Emirati flag in July, with an expected arrival in Abu Dhabi in August.
“I am very honoured to be with you on this symbolic day for Naval Group as we deliver the second Gowind Al Emarat to the UAE Navy. Naval Group has demonstrated its unwavering commitment to the success of the Bani Yas programme, in close cooperation with the UAE Navy, and we are proud to welcome our Emirati guests for the flag transfer ceremony of the Al Emarat corvette”, said Olivier de la Bourdonnaye, Naval Group Executive Vice-President, Surface Ships.
The UAE Navy now owns sea-proven surface combatants, incorporating the most advanced technologies and adapted to their specific needs thanks to the modular design of the Gowind family.
The Gowind corvettes for the UAE Navy were built at Naval Group’s Lorient shipyard, incorporating equipment manufactured locally by UAE industry. Naval Group is stepping up its relationship with the United Arab Emirates Navy to best meet its future challenges.
The Group is also developing its partnership with local industry, so as to offer the greatest support for the maintenance of these two Gowind corvettes in the United Arab Emirates. “This programme symbolizes our commitment to deliver the state-of-the art systems to the UAE Navy and our vocation to anchor Naval Group in the country on a long-term basis, notably by developing industrial cooperation with our local partners,” a company statement said.
The Gowind corvette is a major success with 11 units already chosen by several navies. It offers multiple capabilities and is designed to perform at the highest level the full spectrum of naval defence and maritime security operations.
Multi-role by design, it features capabilities in all warfare areas, carefully integrated from the earliest stages of the engineering process. Robust, well-equipped and ocean-going, the Gowind corvette is already sea-tested, tough and stealthy. With the SETIS Combat Management System designed by Naval Group and innovative structural solutions, it integrates the latest generation of sensors and weapons. – adj/shp/mgm (pix: Naval Group)