His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Presidential Court, launched the ‘Bani Yas P110’ corvette, produced by the French shipbuilder Naval Group.
His Highness raised the UAE flag on the mast of the vessel, announcing its official inauguration and entry into service in the fleet of the UAE Naval Forces, UAE national news agency WAM reported.
His Highness then made an inspection tour of the vessel and stopped at the control room where he listened to a detailed explanation from a number of navy officers about its tasks and advanced technologies to enhance the operational capabilities of the naval forces.
The ceremony was attended by Staff Lieutenant General Issa Saif Mohammed Al Mazrouei, Chief of Staff of the UAE Armed Forces, and Major General Staff Pilot Sheikh Saeed bin Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Nahyan, Commander of the Naval Forces.
Earlier, Naval Group announced that the delivery ceremony for the first Gowind® corvette, Bani Yas, ordered by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to Naval Group took place on 21 October 2023 in Lorient, France, in the presence of an official delegation from the UAE headed by His Highness Sheikh Saeed bin Hamdan al Nahyan, Commander of the UAE Navy.
Bani Yas corvette is the first of the two Gowind® corvettes ordered by the UAE to Naval Group in 2019. Bani Yas corvette was launched in December 2021, left Lorient on 23 October 2023 and is due to arrive in the UAE in early December. The second corvette, Al Emarat, launched on 13 May 2022 at Naval Group’s Lorient site, will soon be starting her sea trials.
On this occasion, Pierre Eric Pommellet, CEO of Naval Group, said: “This day marks a symbolic milestone: the delivery of Bani Yas Gowind® Combat corvette, first unit of this program. Bani Yas and Al Emarat Gowind® Combat corvettes are made to be the best answer to the UAE Naval Forces operational requirements. This program symbolizes our joint commitment to deliver the best and is for sure the first step in a strong cooperation and long-term strategic partnership with the UAE”.
Bani Yas class corvettes benefit from the modular design of the Gowind® family and will enable the UAE Navy to meet current and future challenges with the most advanced technologies. As part of Naval Group's service solutions to meet all the needs of modern navies, the UAE Navy's crew is trained in the operational use of the vessels.
The commercial success of the Gowind® corvette is significant, with 12 units already selected by various navies and most of the ships locally built through technology transfer and partnerships with the local industry.
Gowind® is Naval Group’s response to 21st century security and defence challenges. It is a corvette-size multi-mission Surface Combatant offering capabilities in all areas. It is designed to perform the full spectrum of naval defence operations and maritime security roles, with the highest level of performance.
Sturdy, strongly equipped, highly manoeuvrable, Gowind® integrates, through Naval Group's SETIS® Combat Management System (CMS) and innovative structural solutions, the latest generation sensors and weapons. Designed to be used against air, surface or underwater threats from the initial steps of the engineering process, Gowind® is multipurpose by design.
Naval Group is an international player in naval defense and heir to French naval know-how. Naval Group develops innovative solutions to meet the needs of navies. Present throughout the entire life cycle of the ships, the group designs, builds, integrates and maintains submarines and surface ships, as well as their systems and equipment, through to dismantling. It also provides services for shipyards and naval bases.
With operations on five continents, the group has a turnover of 4.3 billion euros and employs 16,029 people.
