Al Riyadh (812) is an Al Riyadh-class frigate of the Royal Saudi Navy.
 Al Riyadh at Toulon in 2005
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Saudi Arabia | |
| Name |
|
| Namesake | Al Riyadh |
| Builder | Direction des Constructions Navales (DCNS), Lorient |
| Laid down | 28 May 1999 |
| Launched | 1 August 2000 |
| Commissioned | 26 July 2002 |
| Homeport | King Faisal Naval Base |
| Identification | Pennant number: 812 |
| Status | Active |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Al Riyadh-class frigate |
| Displacement | 4,700 tonnes |
| Length | 133 m (436 ft 4 in) |
| Beam | 15.4 m (50 ft 6 in) |
| Draught | 4.1 m (13 ft 5 in) |
| Propulsion | 4 diesel SEMT Pielstick 12PA6V280 STC2, 21,000 hp (16,000 kW) |
| Speed | 24.5 knots (45.4 km/h; 28.2 mph) |
| Range | 7,000 nmi (13,000 km; 8,100 mi) |
| Endurance | 50 days of food |
| Boats & landing craft carried | 2 × ETN boats |
| Capacity | 350 tonnes of fuel, 80 m3 (2,800 cu ft) of kerosene, 60 tonnes of potable water |
| Complement |
|
| Sensors and processing systems |
|
| Armament |
|
| Armour | On sensitive areas (munition magazine and control centre) |
| Aircraft carried | 1 × helicopter (Panther or NH90) |
Development and design
editAl Riyadh is an expanded anti-air version of the French La Fayette class, displacing about 4,700 t (5,181 short tons) and extended to 133 m (436 ft 4 in) in length.[4]
The frigate's combat system, produced by Armaris (a Direction des Constructions Navales/Thales Group joint venture), is armed with Aster 15 surface-to-air missiles (SAM) launched from SYLVER vertical launchers (SYLVER - SYstème de Lancement VERtical). As with the La Fayette class, the primary offensive weapon is the anti-surface Exocet missile. The main gun of the Al Riyadh frigates is the OTO Melara 76 mm super-rapid firing gun replacing the modèle 100 TR automatic gun of the La Fayette class. There are also four aft-mounted 533 mm (21.0 in) torpedo tubes, firing DTCN F17 heavyweight anti-submarine torpedoes. Al Riyadh is capable of a maximum speed of ~46 kilometres per hour (25 kn; 29 mph) with a maximum range of 13,000 kilometres (7,019 nmi; 8,078 mi).[4][5]
Construction and career
editAl Riyadh was launched on 1 August 2000 at the DCNS dockyard in Lorient and commissioned on 26 July 2002.
Al Riyadh-class frigates
editThree Al Riyadh class frigates have been built:
- Al Riyadh (812)
- the lead ship commissioned in 2002
- Makkah (814)
- commissioned in 2004
- Al Dammam (816)
- commissioned in 2004
References
edit- ^ "Euronaval: Naval Group Starts Upgrade Work on la Fayette-class frigates". 23 October 2020.
- ^ "Al Riyadh (F3000S Sawari II) Class - Naval Technology".
- ^ "Al Riyadh (F3000S Sawari II) Class - Naval Technology".
- ^ a b "Al Riyadh (F3000S Sawari II) Class, Saudi Arabia". www.naval-technology.com. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
- ^ "Al Riyadh (F3000S Sawari II) Class - Naval Technology". www.naval-technology.com. Retrieved 2020-11-29.