Snapshot

The Gowind 2500 corvette, designed and built by France’s Naval Group, combines stealth features, resilience and high availability with AAW, ASW and ASuW capabilities. The Gowind 2500 is a multi-mission corvette designed for surveillance, surface and subsurface combat, protection and escort missions. This variation of the Gowind family has been ordered by both Egypt and the UAE. The first ship was delivered in September 2017.

Additional information

Who has ordered the Gowind 2500?

The Gowind 2500 design has proved a popular export, and variants have been ordered by four countries. Naval Group confirmed the sale of ten Gowind 2500 corvettes to Egypt and Malaysia at Euronaval in 2014, while the UAE ordered two in 2017. Malaysia’s Gowind 2500 class is larger than the original design and is known as the Maharaja Lelu-class. Argentina ordered four Gowind-class ships in late 2018 from the OPV 90 design (see L’Adroit-class OPV 90).

The Egyptian contract entered force in 2015, and is believed to be worth €1 billion ($1.1 billion), for four Gowind 2500s.

UAE

Other customers include the UAE, which ordered two Gowind corvettes (plus two options) in 2017 to be built in cooperation with Abu Dhabi Shipbuilding. Negotiations concluded with the UAE and France’s Naval Group reportedly signing a contract in March 2019, estimated at €750 million ($850 million) for two corvettes with an option for a further two. The ships are to be built by Naval Group in partnership with Abu Dhabi Ship Building Company (ADSB).

Greece

On 9 December 2022, Naval Group submitted its offer for the Hellenic Navy’s corvette programme. The French offer entails the procurement of four Gowind 2500 vessels, three of which are to be built in Greece by Hellenic Shipyard. According to the French shipbuilder, the first Gowind could be delivered three years after the contract award date (ie around 2026), and the following corvettes will be delivered at a rate of one per year from 2027.

Romania

Naval Group had offered four Gowind 2500 corvettes to Romania to be built with local partner Santierul Naval Constanta (SNC). The procurement process was suspended in January 2019 due to insufficient funds. In July that year, it was announced that the Romanian authorities had selected Naval Group and SNC to build four new Gowind corvettes as the procurement process started up again.

However, in August 2023, the Romanian MoD decided to cancel the Multirole Corvette programme.

What is the unit cost of a Gowind 2500?

In 2015, Egypt awarded Naval Group a €1 billion ($1.1 billion) contract for four Gowind 2500s and included options for an additional two ships. The contract did not include weapon systems, leading to a unit cost of $275 million per hull. This has been taken as the current unit cost figure.

The UAE ordered two Gowind corvettes in 2017 under a contract worth $850 million which included an option for an additional two corvettes. The Egyptian corvettes have a cost of $275 million (in 2015 value). This yielded a $296 million unit cost without weapons and systems in 2019.

How many Gowind 2500s are already in service?

Egypt

Vessel name	Shipyard	Construction started | Keel laid down	Launched	Commissioned	Notes
El Fateh (ENS 971)	Lorient	30 September 2015	17 September 2016	22 September 2017
Port Said (ENS 976)	Alexandria Shipyard	16 April 2016	6 September 2018	6 January 2021
Al-Moez (ENS 981)	Alexandria Shipyard	July 2018	12 May 2019	Late 2022	Sea trials completed in July 2022
Al-Ismailia (ENS 986)	Alexandria Shipyard		15 May 2020

Egypt’s first of class, named El Fateh (ENS 971), began construction at Lorient Shipyard and was laid down on 30 September 2015. It was launched on 17 September 2016 and commissioned into service on 22 September 2017. This is the only vessel to be built outside of Egypt.

The second ship is the first to be built entirely in Egypt by Alexandria Shipyard. Port Said (ENS 976) was laid down on 16 April 2016, launched on 6 September 2018 and was delivered to the Egyptian Navy on 6 January 2021.

The third corvette Al-Moez (ENS 981) was laid down in July 2018 and launched in Alexandria on 12 May 2019. On 5 July 2022, Al-Moez reportedly completed its sea trials. In late November 2022, Al-Moez was pictured during the MEDUSA12 naval exercise, meaning that the vessel has likely entered service.

The fourth ship Al-Ismailia (ENS 986), was launched on 15 May 2020.

UAE

Vessel name	Shipyard	Construction started | Keel laid down	Launched	Commissioned	Notes
Bani Yas (P110)	Lorient		4 December 2021		Started sea trials on 6 March 2023
El Emarat (P111)	Lorient		13 May 2022

The first Gowind corvette for the UAE, named Bani Yas (P110), was launched on 4 December 2021 at the Naval Group shipyard in Lorient. The second was launched on 13 May 2022, also in Lorient.

How do Egyptian and UAE Gowind 2500s differ?

The Gowind 2500 corvettes have a single mast, allowing 360° surveillance capability around the vessel. They are also equipped with a helicopter deck that can operate an 11t helicopter and unmanned aerial systems (UAS).

Weapons

Egypt

The armament includes eight Exocet MM40s, 16 MICA VLS, a 76mm Oto Melara gun and two 20mm Narwhal guns, as well as torpedo launchers (MU90).

In February 2021, MBDA was awarded a contract from the Egyptian Navy for the VL MICA NG (new generation) air defence system to arm its Gowind corvettes. The system was first launched in October 2020 and offers improved capabilities for atypical targets, such as UAVs, small aircraft and future threats characterised by increasingly low observable IR and RF signatures.

UAE

Although the UAE vessels were supposed to be fitted with ESSM, the UAE Navy has reportedly selected the MICA NG.

The armament includes an Oto Melara 76mm main gun, two R400S-Mk2 RWS, 16 MICA VLS, eight Exocet MM40s, torpedo launchers for MU90, a RIM-116 RAM missile launcher system fitted over the hangar, Rheinmetall MASS countermeasures and Naval Group’s CANTO anti-torpedo system.

Sensors and C4I

Egypt

The sensor suite includes the Smart-S Mk2 radar integrated into the Panoramic Sensors and Intelligence Module (PSIM), STIR 1.2 EO Mk 2 fire control radar, and Captas-2 VDS.

The vessels feature the SETIS integrated combat management system.

UAE

The sensor fit includes the Thales NS100 radar, STIR 1.2 EO Mk 2 fire control radar, Spynel-X EO system, EW suite from Elettronica, Thales Kingklip hull-mounted sonar and Thales Captas-2 VDS.

In July 2020, Naval Group selected iXblue to provide navigation systems for the ships.

Technical specifications

The Egyptian Gowind 2500 corvettes displace 2,600t, measure 102m in length, have a 16m beam and a draft of 5.4m. Powered by a CODED propulsion system, the vessels can reach a top speed of 25kt and have a range of 3,700nm at 15kt with a crew of 65, including the helicopter detachment and 15 passengers.

The UAE Gowind 2500 corvettes have a full load displacement of 2800t. They measure 102m in length, have a beam of 16m and a draft of 5.4m. Powered by a CODLOD propulsion system, the vessels produce a maximum speed of 25kt with a range of 4,500nmi at a cruising speed of 15kt. The vessels also have a crew complement of 95.

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