SAMI Navantia Naval Industries (SAMI-Navantia), a joint venture between Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI) and Navantia S.A., today signed a €900 million (approximately SAR 3.7 billion) contract with the Spanish shipbuilder Navantia to collaborate on Combat System Integration (CSI) on the Avante 2200 corvettes for the Royal Saudi Naval Forces (RSNF). The contract will contribute to the localization of industry, transfer of technology, and creation of new job opportunities. The agreement was signed at SAMI's booth in the Defense and Security Equipment International (DSEI) 2019 exhibition taking place at ExCeL in London, UK, and in the presence of Prince Khaled bin Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz , Saudi Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Ahmed Al-Khateeb, Chairman of SAMI, Susana de Sarria, Chairwoman of Navantia S.A., Dr. Andreas Schwer, CEO of SAMI, Antonio Rodriguez-Barberan, CEO of SAMI-Navantia, as well as officials from both sides. Commenting on the contract, Antonio Rodriguez-Barberan, CEO of SAMI-Navantia, said: "The partnership agreement with Navantia represents a landmark achievement for SAMI-Navantia as the company is embarking on a historic journey with the objective of helping realize the Saudi Arabia's ambitions related to localizing the military and defense industries, transferring the technology to the Kingdom, and creating new jobs as envisaged in the Saudi Vision 2030. This offers us an excellent opportunity to capitalize on our strategic partner's several years of experience in the design, construction, and integration of warships to build our own capabilities in the domain." On her part, Susana de Sarria, Chairwoman of Navantia, said: "Our contract with SAMI-Navantia is a proof of Navantia's commitment to supporting Saudi Arabia in developing its industrial capabilities in the defense sector. This will provide a strong foundation for long-term cooperation between SAMI and Navantia." The new contract builds on the joint venture partnership agreement signed between SAMI and Navantia last year with the objective of designing and building five Avante 2200 corvettes for RSNF. The last vessel will be delivered by 2022 with the final stage of the fourth and fifth corvettes to be developed in Saudi Arabia by SAMI-Navantia in line with the Kingdom's vision to localize 50 percent of the total military spending by 2030. In addition to CSI, SAMI-Navantia will focus on system engineering and architecture, hardware design, software development, testing and verification, prototyping, simulation, and modeling, as well as logistical support and training programs. SAMI is showcasing its wide-ranging line-up of cutting-edge military and defense systems and solutions spanning the company's five business divisions, namely Aeronautics, Land Systems, Naval Systems, Weapons and Missiles, and Defense Electronics at the world-leading defense and security event.
