The ''Baynunah'' class are

corvette A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the sloo ...

s for the United Arab Emirates Navy (UAE Navy). The

lead ship The lead ship, name ship, or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships that are all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable to naval ships and large civilian vessels. Large ships are very comple ...

, ''Baynunah'', is named after the Baynunah region in

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...

. Six ships were built for this class at a total price of US$820 million.

Description

This class is based on the CMN Group's Combattante BR70 design. The ''Baynunah'' class is designed for "patrol and surveillance, minelaying, interception and other anti-surface warfare operations in the United Arab Emirate's territorial waters and exclusive economic zone."

Export

Angola

Abu Dhabi Ship Building (ADSB) has signed a EUR 1 Bn contract with Angola to supply a fleet of three BR71 MKII corvettes to the Angolan Navy, parent company EDGE Group announced at IDEX 2023 on 20 February 2023.

History

In 2004, to replace the , the United Arab Emirates' Ministry of Defence awarded a contract to Abu Dhabi Ship Building for the ''Baynunah'' class. The

, ''Baynunah'', was built in France by

Constructions Mécaniques de Normandie Constructions Mécaniques de Normandie (CMN) is a French shipyard located at Cherbourg. It employs approximately four hundred employees covering the various specialities required for the construction of luxury yachts and warships. Since its foun ...

, while the rest are being built in the UAE by Abu Dhabi Ship Building (ADSB). The lead ship was launched on 25 June 2009.

Sea trial A sea trial or trial trip is the testing phase of a watercraft (including boats, ships, and submarines). It is also referred to as a "shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on op ...

s commenced in January 2010.. The fourth ship of the class, ''Mezyad'', was launched by ADSB on 15 February 2012. ADSB hoped to secure further orders for the class from the Saudi and Kuwaiti navies, however Saudi and Kuwaiti interest has since been lost. The last ship, ''Al-Hili'', was launched on 6 February 2014. During the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in the Yemeni Civil War, a number of the class took part in a naval

blockade A blockade is the act of actively preventing a country or region from receiving or sending out food, supplies, weapons, or communications, and sometimes people, by military force. A blockade differs from an embargo or sanction, which are ...

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

Ships

References

External links

Abu Dhabi Ship Building

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20160611113615/http://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/archive/2005/May/Pages/Local_Shipbuilder5763.aspx National Defense Magazine article {{DEFAULTSORT:Baynunah Class Corvette Corvette classes Corvettes of the United Arab Emirates Corvettes of the United Arab Emirates Navy