Bahrain Eyes French-Origin Egypt-Built Gowind Corvettes

Bahrain is interested in buying two Gowind corvettes built by France’s Naval Group, French media reported.

The warships will be built at Alexandria Shipyard in Egypt, per La Tribune. Cairo acquired four Gowind 2500s corvettes in 2014, of which three were built in Alexandria with technical support from France. Egyptian Gowind 2500 took part in a series of demonstrations meant for the Bahrainis.

Bahrain has only bought €56.1 million worth of weapons from France between 2012 and 2021.

If the contract materializes, Lorient-based Naval Group will manufacture kits for the construction of two ships; and Alexandria Shipyard will become a regional hub for building and maintaining Naval Group warships.

Besides Egypt, the Gowind has already been sold to two other countries (six to Malaysia and two to the United Arab Emirates).

The Gowind-class corvettes are multi-mission platforms designed to carry out various operations including surface and sub-surface warfare, surveillance, protection and escort missions. Besides, the vessels can be deployed to conduct maritime policing missions against trafficking and piracy.

The Egyptian Gowind-class corvettes are 102m-long, 16m-wide and have a displacement of 2,400t.

The vessels can operate at a maximum speed of 25 knots and accommodate up to 65 crew members aboard. The vessels can also embark helicopter and drones.

All the Gowind-class vessels are equipped with the Naval Group’s SETIS combat management system, allowing the surface ships to perform high-intensity naval operations.

Additionally, the vessels are fitted with company’s panoramic sensors and intelligence module (PS1M).