수상전투함 이란에 대응해 진행되고 있는 사우디 해군의 전력증강

[위종민]

이란, 그리고 이란의 지원을 받는 후티 반군의 위협에 맞서 사우디 해군이 최근 전력을 증강하고 있습니다. 

스페인 나반티아와 합작해 건조한 아반떼2200(알 주바일급) 5척 중 1, 2번함이 3월, 7월 중 해군에 인도됐습니다. 최종 5번함은 2024년 2월 중 인도될 것으로 보입니다. 이 코르벳은 사우디 서해함대에 배치돼 홍해와 아덴만에서 활동할 예정입니다. 

또한 록히드마틴과 합작으로 프리덤급 LCS에 기반한 다목적 수상전투함(MMSC; Multi-Mission Surface Combatant) 4척 건조계약이 체결됐으며 이 배들은 동해함대에 배치될 예정입니다. 

사우디의 경제발전 및 고용창출, 기술발전을 위해 이들 사업들은 사우디 회사들과 합작으로 건조가 추진되고 있으며, 전투시스템 국산화도 병행돼 추진되고 있습니다. 

또한 시진핑 중국 국가주석의 방문이 예정돼 있는데, 이를 계기로 중국이 사우디에 군함도 판매할 수 있을지도 주목됩니다. 

https://breakingdefense.com/2022/09/saudi-naval-modernization-pushes-ahead-with-eye-always-on-iran/

Saudi naval modernization pushes ahead, with eye always on Iran

Aaron Mehta

8-10 minutes

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The fourth Saudi Avante-class corvette goes into the water during production in late 2021. (Navantia)

BEIRUT — Against the backdrop of regional tensions and the potential return of the Iran nuclear deal, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is pushing ahead with an ambitious, multi-billion dollar naval fleet modernization effort that includes a quintet of new Avante 2200 corvettes.

On August 25, the first Avante 2200-class, dubbed the Al Jubail, arrived at King Faisal Naval Base in Jeddah. Saudi Arabia took possession of that first corvette in March, with a second taken into possession at the end of July. The Al-Sarawat Program, as the corvette addition is known, comes for the first time with a Saudi- made combat management system known as Hazem. The production is a joint venture between Saudi Military Industries Company (SAMI) and Spanish shipbuilder Navantia.

The corvettes, which were purchased under a 2018 agreement, are capable of multi-tasking and come equipped with air defense systems, anti-submarine warfare and Surface Warfare capabilities, Bahraini strategic expert and political researcher Abdullah Al Junaid told Breaking Defense.

All five vessels — 104 meters in length and capable of transporting around 100 people — are underway with construction, with the fifth corvette having been put into the water in Dec. 2021. Delivery of that final ship is scheduled for February 2024.

“As part of its multi-year Saudi Naval Expansion Program (SNEP-II), Saudi Arabia is reinforcing its fleets through small naval assets, such as corvettes, speedboats, OPVs. These naval assets boost Saudi Arabia’s capacity to monitor and patrol its seas and coasts from potential asymmetric attacks launched by Iranian proxies, or potentially Iran itself, against the Kingdom,” Corrado Cok, a defense expert at Gulf State Analytics think tank told breaking Defense.

He added that the newly-arrived corvette is a case in point. “This warship is designed for surveillance and control operations with the capacity to host a helicopter of up to ten tons. On top of that, Navantia tailored it to the Royal Saudi Navy by installing additional combat systems, enhancing their survivability at sea and making them resilient to extreme temperatures.”

The corvettes are scheduled to join Saudi’s Western fleet, meaning the ships will not be deployed in the Arab or Persian Gulf next to Iran but instead to protect the roughly 1,800 kilometers of Saudi’s Red Sea coastline and safeguard the navigation of the Gulf of Aden, located directly beside Yemen, where Iranian proxy Houthi forces are based.

“It will play a major role in combating terrorism and piracy and securing navigation in Saudi and international waters in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden,” Al Junaid said.

Countering Threats In The Gulf

Attacks in the Red Sea and the Arabian Gulf threatening navigation and naval assets are ongoing.

On August 30, an Iranian ship attempted to seize an American unmanned surface vessel operating in the Arabian Gulf, but US fifth fleet intervened and thwarted the attempt. That same day, a US Coast Guard fast response cutter interdicted a fishing vessel smuggling illegal drugs worth an estimated $20 million while patrolling the Gulf of Oman. Then just days later, an Iranian boat grabbed two more US unmanned systems and brought them aboard a ship before eventually dumping them overboard.

RELATED: NAVCENT head on why a new Red Sea task force was needed

The Saudis are looking to address both direct attacks carried out by the Houthis on commercial and civilian relief ships, as well as Somali organizations active in piracy, human trafficking and arms and drugs smuggling. Those Somali ships have also cooperated with the Houthis in transporting African fighters to fight with them in Yemen.

“The Royal Saudi Navy already faces a number of asymmetrical threats from air and sea. The Houthi rebel group has launched repeated attacks through explosive-laden boats in the southern Red Sea, including a relevant strike against an oil tanker in the port of Jeddah in December 2020,” Cok said.

“On top of that, Iranian proxies in Iraq and Yemen have hit the Kingdom with drones and ballistic missiles on multiple occasions. If the confrontation with Iran escalated, Tehran and its local allies could launch missiles and drones also across the Gulf. Arms smuggling into Yemen is yet another threat to Saudi security and part of it follows maritime routes across the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, a reason that raised the attention of Saudi Arabia and the UAE in the Horn of Africa since 2015,” he commented on the threats.

Against this background, Cok stressed that the Avante 2200 provides suitable solutions to counter both aerial threats and a wide range of maritime targets, being equipped with torpedoes, ESSM surface-to-air and anti-ship Harpoon missiles and Leonardo’s super rapid 76mm main gun system. Torpedoes are also instrumental to match Iran’s submarine assets.

Indigenous Capabilities

But the corvette deal isn’t just about securing Saudi’s territorial waters. As with all defense deals, the Kingdom has an eye on technology transfer that can lead to the Saudi Vision 2030 effort, an ambitious set of economic targets set out by crown prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud.

Part of that technology transfer from the Sami Navantia joint venture has led to the creation of the first Saudi Arabian Naval combat system, known as “Hazem,” which has now been integrated onto the first Al Jubail Avante 2200. Hazem includes a combat management system, integrated communication system, combat system integration, integrated platform management system, fire control system and a training system — the brains of a modern-day ship.

Al Junaid believes the local production could help make the integration and training of the system easier for the Saudi fleet. But it has other benefits, as Cok noted — developing the Saudi manufacturing sector and creating employment for Saudi citizens, which are two pivotal goals of Vision 2030.

Of course, the corvette program is only one part of the modernization effort. In 2018, a contract was signed with US firm Lockheed Martin for four Multi-Mission Surface Combatant (MMSC), based on the US Navy’s Freedom-class Littoral Combat Ship; the first cut of steel of MMSC 1 took place on October 24th, 2019 while that of MMSC 2 happened January 28th, 2021. Those are expected to serve in the Saudi Eastern fleet.

RELATED: A Middle East NATO? A missile defense network with Israel? Major shifts brewing in region

And in 2019, Saudi Arabia signed an agreement with France’s Naval Group to build warships and frigates in the Kingdom, through a joint venture in which SAMI holds 51% stake while Naval Group holds the remaining 49%. However, there has been little news about progress since.

In addition, Al Junaid noted Saudi is currently operating three Al Riyadh (F3000S) Class multipurpose anti-air warfare frigates, built by DCN of France for the Royal Saudi Naval Forces and commissioned in 2002. Though older, those frigates are able to operate in blue waters and played a key role during the 2015 anti-Houthi effort known as Operation Decisive Storm.

One interesting wrinkle to watch, as Saudi Arabia continues to modernize: could it look towards Beijing? Chinese President Xi Jingping expected to visit KSA in the near future, one month after the US president’s visit to the Gulf country, and Xi would certainly love to tighten ties with Riyadh.

“China’s arms sales to the Middle East have been in narrow areas, and they have not been in the maritime space. While I wouldn’t be surprised to see Saudi Arabia acquire some niche capabilities from China, I’d be very surprised to see Saudi Arabia turn away from a fundamental reliance on Western systems for training, maintenance and logistics,” Jon Alterman, director of the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told Breaking Defense.

Cok, however, is more open to the idea. “Yes, the visit of Xi could open to new arms sales to Saudi Arabia, including naval assets like China did with Pakistan. This is yet unlikely to shift Saudi interest in Western, and particularly US, naval technology. When it comes to interoperability, the recent drills around Taiwan have shown that Beijing is enhancing its capability to coordinate its land, naval and air forces, but still it has to close a large gap with the US and its Western allies,” he said.

https://www.naval-technology.com/projects/avante-2200-combatant/

Avante 2200 Combatant

배수량은 2,470톤, 전장 98.9m, NH-90이나 AS-565 팬서같은 10톤급 헬기가 운요이 가능하며 5.5m급 RHIB 보트 2척을 양현에 적재합니다. 레오나르도 76mm 슈퍼 래피드포가 주포이며, VLS 8셀, 30mm 기관포, 디코이 발사기 및 어뢰로 무장했습니다. NAVAL-TECHNOLOGY 자료엔 운용하는 대공미사일은 안 나와 있는데 위 기사에 따르면 ESSM인 듯 합니다. C2 체계는 나반티아제 CATIZ C2이며, 추진기관은 5,920kW(7940마력) 디젤엔진 4기 2축 추진의 CODAD입니다. 

[백선호]

이란은 잠수함, 잠수정을 꽤 가지고 있지만 사우디는 하나도 없네요.

이란은 125톤의 코딱지만한 잠수정이 크루즈 미사일을 쐈다고 선전하기도 했습니다.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Iranian_SLCM.webm

[위종민]

대형 잠수함까진 아니더라도 수백~1천톤 내외 잠수함은 필요할 법 한데요. 잠수함을 운용할 정도로 교육을 받았으면서 험한 일을 할만한 사회적 중간계층이 없어서 그런 걸까요? 파일럿들의 회고를 보면 백이면 백 사우디 조종사들이 인성은 개차반이고 실력은 별로였다는 얘기를 하시더군요.