Egypt launched second Gowind 2500 corvettes for the Egyptian Navy on 6 September from the facilities of Alexandria Shipyard (ASY). It is second of four Gowind 2500 corvettes but first of the class to be built in-country.

Named Port Said , the 102 m ship will now complete outfitting at ASY before beginning trials next year.

Egyptian Armament Authority awarded a contract to France’s Naval Group (then DCNS) for the design and construction of Gowind 2500 first-of-class El Fateh at its Lorient shipyard in northwest France in July 2014.

The contract also included materiel procurement for the three follow-on corvettes, and a transfer of technology agreement to enable ASY to build three follow-on ships in-country.

The Gowind 2500 design, a larger variant of which forms the basis for the Royal Malaysian Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship programme. It is developed by Naval Group to meet export demands for a small but highly capable multi-mission surface combatant.