The ''Boraida'' class is a

ship class A ship class is a group of ships of a similar design. This is distinct from a ship type, which might reflect a similarity of tonnage or intended use. For example, is a nuclear aircraft carrier (ship type) of the (ship class). In the course o ...

of two

replenishment oiler A replenishment oiler or replenishment tanker is a naval auxiliary ship with fuel tanks and dry cargo holds which can supply both fuel and dry stores during underway replenishment (UNREP) at sea. Many countries have used replenishment oilers. Th ...

s built for the

Royal Saudi Navy The Royal Saudi Naval Forces (RSNF), or Royal Saudi Navy, is the maritime arm of the Saudi Arabian Armed Forces and one of the five service branches of the Ministry of Defense of Saudi Arabia. Its primary role is monitoring and defending Sa ...

by CN la Ciotat at

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

, France. It is a modified version of the French replenishment ship. They were constructed in 1983 and entered service in 1984. The two ships are based at

Jeddah Jeddah ( ), alternatively transliterated as Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; , ), is a List of governorates of Saudi Arabia, governorate and the largest city in Mecca Province, Saudi Arabia, and the country's second largest city after Riyadh, located ...

, Saudi Arabia.

Design and description

Two ships of the French

s were ordered by the

in October 1980 to a modified design. The ''Boraida'' class have a

standard displacement The displacement or displacement tonnage of a ship is its weight. As the term indicates, it is measured indirectly, using Archimedes' principle, by first calculating the volume of water displaced by the ship, then converting that value into wei ...

of and at full load. They are long with a beam of , and a draught of . The ships are powered by two

SEMT Pielstick SEMT Pielstick was a French company that designed and built large diesel engines. Its full name was (Company of Thermal Machines Studies). Founded in 1948, SEMT was bought by MAN Diesel in 2006 During its existence as an independent compan ...

14 PC2.5 V 400

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which Combustion, ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to Mechanics, mechanical Compr ...

s turning two shafts with LIPS

controllable pitch propeller Controllability is an important property of a control system and plays a crucial role in many regulation problems, such as the stabilization of unstable systems using feedback, tracking problems, obtaining optimal control strategies, or, simply p ...

s rated at . The ships have a top speed of , a range of at and endurance for 30 days. They have a

complement Complement may refer to: The arts * Complement (music), an interval that, when added to another, spans an octave ** Aggregate complementation, the separation of pitch-class collections into complementary sets * Complementary color, in the visu ...

of 140, with accommodation for 55 cadets. Each ship has two dual solid/liquid underway transfer stations per side and can replenish one ship per side and one astern. The ''Boraida'' class can carry of diesel, of

aviation fuel Aviation fuels are either petroleum-based or blends of petroleum and synthetic fuels, used to power aircraft. They have more stringent requirements than fuels used for ground applications, such as heating and road transport, and they contain add ...

, of freshwater, of ammunition, and of supplies. The ships are armed with two turrets with twin Breda Bofors guns. For weapons control the ''Boraida'' class is equipped with two CSEE Naja optronic fire control directors and two CSEE Lynx optical sights and have two Decca navigational

radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...

s. They have an aft

helicopter deck A helicopter deck (or helo deck) is a helicopter pad on the deck of a ship, usually located on the stern and always clear of obstacles that would prove hazardous to a helicopter landing. In the United States Navy, it is commonly and properly refe ...

, and can carry either one

Eurocopter AS332 Super Puma The Airbus Helicopters H215 (formerly Eurocopter AS332 Super Puma) is a four-bladed, twin-engined, medium-sized, utility helicopter developed and initially produced by French aerospace company Aérospatiale. It has been subsequently manufactur ...

or two

Eurocopter AS365 Dauphin The Eurocopter, later Airbus Helicopters AS365 Dauphin, originally known as the Aérospatiale SA 365 Dauphin 2, is a medium-weight multipurpose twin-engine helicopter produced by Airbus Helicopters. It was originally developed and manufactured ...

helicopters. The helicopters can be armed with

anti-submarine An anti-submarine weapon (ASW) is any one of a number of devices that are intended to act against a submarine and its crew, to destroy (sink) the vessel or reduce its capability as a weapon of war. In its simplest sense, an anti-submarine weapon ...

and anti-ship weapons.

Ships

Construction and career

The two ships were ordered as part of the Sawari programme. Both ships were built at the La Ciotat shipyard in

, France. 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 ...

of the class, ''Boraida'', was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one ...

on 13 April 1982. The ship entered service on 29 February 1984. ''Yunbou'' was laid down on 9 October 1983 and entered service on 29 August 1985. They are used primarily as

training Training is teaching, or developing in oneself or others, any skills and knowledge or fitness that relate to specific useful competencies. Training has specific goals of improving one's capability, capacity, productivity and performance. I ...

, depot and maintenance ships. Both ships are based at

, Saudi Arabia. In 1996–1998, the two ships underwent a major refit by DCNS at

Toulon Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department. The Commune of Toulon h ...

, France. In 2013 an agreement was reached between France and Saudi Arabia for a life-extension program for the two ships. The refit will include the installation of one launcher for Simbad Mistral

surface-to-air missile A surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground or the sea to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-ai ...

s. The refits will take place in Saudi Arabia.

Citations

References

* * {{cite book , editor-last=Saunders , editor-first=Stephen , year=2009 , title=Jane's Fighting Ships 2009–2010 , publisher=Jane's Information Group Inc. , edition=112 , location=Alexandria, Virginia , isbn=978-0-7106-2888-6 Ships of the Royal Saudi Navy Auxiliary replenishment ship classes