Al Madinah-class frigate

The Al Madinah class are a series of four frigates built for the Royal Saudi Navy. The ships are named after Saudi cities. The first, Al Madinah was commissioned in 1985, and the fourth, Taif was commissioned in 1986. The four Al Madinah-class frigates are based in the Red Sea.

Al Madinah in 2017
Class overview
NameAl Madinah class
Builders
Operators Royal Saudi Navy
Succeeded byAl Riyadh class
Built1981–1986
In commission1985–present
Planned4
Completed4
Active4
General characteristics
TypeFrigate
Displacement
  • 1,990 tons standard
  • 2610 tons full load
Length377 ft 4 in (115.01 m)
Beam41 ft (12 m)
Draught15 ft 4 in (4.67 m)
Installed power32,500 bhp (24,200 kW)
Propulsion2 shaft, SEMT Pielstick diesel engines
Speed30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph)
Range8,000 nmi (15,000 km; 9,200 mi) at 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement179
Sensors and
processing systems
  • Radars
    • 2 x Decca 1226, Thompson CSF – Sea Tiger DRBV-15, DRBC-32E
    • Castor 2 (fire control)
  • Sonar
    • Hull-mounted Thompson CSF Diodon, Diodon-Sorel VDS
Electronic warfare
& decoys
  • Thompson CSF DR4000 ESM, SENIT VI CCS,
  • Decoys: Two CSEE Dagaie chaff launchers
Armament
  • 8 × Otomat mk 2 anti ship missiles
  • 1 × 100 mm/55 compact gun
  • 2 × twin 40 mm/70 Breda Bofors guns
  • 1 × 8-cell Crotale surface to air missile launcher (24 missiles)
  • 4 × 550 mm torpedo tubes (F17P torpedoes)
Aircraft carried1 × SA365F Dauphin helicopter
Aviation facilitiesFlight deck and hangar

Description

The frigates were ordered in October 1980 as part of the "Sawari" programme. The Al Madinah class was built in France at the Arsenal de Marine, Lorient (French Government Dockyard and CNIM, La Seyne in the mid-1980s. Their full load displacement is 2,610 tons and they are armed with eight Otomat surface-to-surface missiles, one 8-cell Crotale surface-to-air missile launcher, with 26 missiles total. The vessels are also armed with one 100 mm/55 dual purpose gun, two 40 mm anti-aircraft guns, four torpedo tubes. The frigates have an aft helicopter deck and hangar for use by one Dauphin helicopter.[1]

Ships in class

ShipBuilderLaid downLaunchedCompleted
702 Al MadinahArsenal de Lorient15 October 198123 April 19834 January 1985
704 HofoufCNIM, La Seyne14 June 198224 June 198331 October 1985
706 AbhaCNIM, La Seyne17 December 198223 December 19834 April 1986
708 TaifCNIM, La Seyne1 March 198325 May 198429 August 1986

Service history

In August 2013, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the French ODAS agency signed a contract to upgrade and modernize the Al Madinah-class frigates.[2]

On 30 January 2017, Al Madinah was attacked by Yemeni Houthi militia along the western coast of Yemen in the Red Sea. Two Saudi sailors were killed and three injured in the attack.[3][4]

Citations

  1. "Al Madinah". deagel.com. 7 April 2017. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
  2. "DCNS, Thales, MBDA win billion-euro defense contract to upgrade Royal Saudi Navy vessels". navyrecognition.com. 30 August 2013. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
  3. "Royal Saudi Navy Al Madinah-class Frigate Damaged Following Attack by Houthi Militia Off Yemen". navyrecognition.com. 31 January 2017. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
  4. "Photos: Saudi Al Madinah-class frigate which was targeted by Houthis arrives to Jeddah". defense-watch.com. 5 February 2017. Archived from the original on 2 August 2017. Retrieved 27 June 2017.

Further reading

  • Gardiner, Robert, ed. (1995). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947–1995. London: Conway Maritime. ISBN 0-85177-605-1. OCLC 34284130. Also published as Gardiner, Robert; Chumbley, Stephen; Budzbon, Przemysław (1995). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947–1995. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-132-7. OCLC 34267261.
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