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.

Class overview
Name:	Al Madinah class
Builders:	Arsenal de Lorient, CNIM, La Seyne, France
Operators:	Royal Saudi Navy
In commission:	1985–present
Planned:	4
Completed:	4
Active:	4
General characteristics
Type:	Frigate
Displacement:	1,990 tons standard 2610 tons full load
Length:	377 ft 4 in (115.01 m)
Beam:	41 ft (12 m)
Draught:	15 ft 4 in (4.67 m)
Installed power:	32,500 bhp (24,200 kW)
Propulsion:	2 shaft, SEMT Pielstick diesel engines
Speed:	30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph)
Range:	8,000 nmi (15,000 km; 9,200 mi) at 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement:	179
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 carried:	1 × SA365F Dauphin helicopter
Aviation facilities:	Flight 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

Ship	Builder	Laid down	Launched	Completed
702 Al Madinah	Arsenal de Lorient	15 October 1981	23 April 1983	4 January 1985
704 Hofouf	CNIM, La Seyne	14 June 1982	24 June 1983	31 October 1985
706 Abha	CNIM, La Seyne	17 December 1982	23 December 1983	4 April 1986
708 Taif	CNIM, La Seyne	1 March 1983	25 May 1984	29 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 Medinah-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. 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.