U.A.E.'s Edge Group to Supply €1B worth Corvettes to Angolan Navy

U.A.E.’s state-owned EDGE Group has won an Angolan contract worth €1 billion to provide corvettes to the country’s Navy.

The contract was announced on February 20 at the IDEX show in Abu Dhabi.

EDGE subsidiary Abu Dhabi Ship Building (ADSB) will build a fleet of 71m BR71 MKII corvettes fitted with advanced mission systems under this deal.

“The BR71 Mk II corvette is a highly advanced vessel capable of performing multiple missions to secure Angola’s 1 600 km coastline,” David Massey, CEO of ADSB, said.

The Combattante BR71 Mk II an advanced variant of the Baynunah class (BR 71 design) corvette developed by French shipyard CMN, a part of Privinvest Shipbuilding Group. The vessel is designed for littoral warfare defense operations against air and surface threats, patrolling tasks, law enforcement and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) missions.

It has a crew of 50 and maximum speed of 30 knots, with range of 2 500 nautical miles at 12 knots. Four MTU engines drive two steering and two booster water-jets. It can accommodate a 5 ton class helicopter on a rear deck and two 6m RHIBs. Primary weapon is a 76 or 57 mm cannon, backed by two 20 or 30 mm cannons. It can also launch Exocet anti-ship missiles and well as surface-to-air missiles.

Edge describes the BR71 Mk II corvette as a sophisticated vessel fitted with advanced mission systems including a 3D radar, electronic warfare suite, secure communications, a main gun, and surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missile systems.

ADSB has built half a dozen Baynunah class corvettes for the UAE Navy, with the lead ship constructed in France by CMN.