Navantia organized a ceremony for the first Avante 2200 corvette on 15 January for Saudi Arabia. Thus the construction of the ship was officially started.

Last year, an agreement of € 1.8 billion was signed for the construction of five platforms between Saudi Arabia and Spain. The agreement, including the construction of the corvettes and five-year logistic support activities, is expected to provide employment for 6,000 people. The first corvette will be delivered in 2021. The remaining platforms will be delivered to Saudi Arabia in four months periods following the first delivery.

The Avante 2200 developed by Navantia is capable of performing anti-submarine warfare missions. The platform of 98.8 meters has a displacement of 2470 tons. The ship, which has a hangar and platform for a 10 ton class helicopter, will have an eight-cell vertical launch system (VLS), a 76-mm cannon, a 30-mm gun, air defence missiles and torpedo tubes.