Saudi Navy Deploys Al Jubail-Class Corvette Onaizah to Qatar as DIMDEX 2026 Fleets Assemble.

The Royal Saudi Naval Forces corvette Onaizah arrived off Doha this week as regional and international navies assembled ahead of DIMDEX 2026 in Qatar. The deployment highlights Saudi Arabia’s expanding surface combatant capability and its growing role in Gulf and Red Sea maritime security.

Doha, Qatar, 18 January 2026- As regional navies began assembling ahead of DIMDEX 2026, the Royal Saudi Naval Forces warship Onaizah made its arrival off Doha, drawing attention along the Qatari waterfront. Army Recognition correspondents on site observed the corvette’s controlled approach and final mooring, a routine maneuver that nevertheless offered a rare close look at one of Saudi Arabia’s most modern surface combatants as it joined the growing international naval presence ahead of the exhibition.
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Saudi Al Jubail-class corvette Onaizah combines AESA radar, VL MICA NG air defense, 76 mm gun and CIWS, anti-ship missiles, ASW sonar and torpedoes, and a helicopter deck for escort and maritime security missions (Picture source: Army Recognition Group).

In practical terms, the platform on display is the Al Jubail-class corvette, Saudi Arabia’s Avante 2200-derived multi-mission combatant built with Navantia under the Al Sarawat program. Commissioning material for Unayzah describes the class as 104 meters long with a 14-meter beam, built for high survivability and reliable operations in extreme Gulf temperatures, and able to accommodate 102 personnel, including embarked specialists. Those dimensions align with detailed reporting on the lead ship Al Jubail, which also notes a design draught of around 3.8 meters, provisions for roughly 21 days, and a propulsion suite centered on four MTU 12V-1163-TB93 diesel engines rated at 4,440 kW each in a CODAD arrangement driving two controllable-pitch propellers via RENK gearboxes. That combination is credited with a top speed up to 27 knots and a quoted range reaching 4,500 nautical miles at an economical cruise. Other authoritative references cite a range of around 3,500 nautical miles at 12 knots, reflecting differences in operating profiles and payload assumptions.

Onaizah’s combat system architecture is where the Saudi program quietly signals ambition. The main sensor is Hensoldt’s TRS-4D 3D multifunction AESA radar, paired with Navantia’s Dorna radar-optronic fire control system to cue the main gun and close-in weapon. The TRS-4D provides long-range air and surface surveillance with strong resistance to electronic attack and the capacity to track hundreds of targets simultaneously, a critical attribute in a region where dense civilian traffic and military activity overlap. Sensors and weapons are managed by the Hazem battle management system, developed locally by Saudi industry following technology transfer, a detail that carries strategic weight by reducing dependence on foreign mission-system updates during periods of tension.

The weapons suite reflects a layered, pragmatic approach tailored to Gulf realities, where drones, sea-skimming missiles, fast attack craft, and submarines are persistent concerns rather than theoretical ones. The ship is fitted with a Leonardo 76 mm Super Rapid gun forward and a Rheinmetall Millennium 35 mm close-in weapon system for point defense, complemented by multiple 12.7 mm mounts for asymmetric threats. The 35 mm system’s high rate of fire and programmable ammunition are intended to rapidly place airburst rounds into the path of incoming targets, providing a last-ditch shield against missiles and unmanned systems. For area air defense beyond the CIWS envelope, the class is equipped with a 16-cell vertical launch system for VL MICA NG missiles, extending defensive coverage to well beyond 40 km and allowing the corvette to protect not only itself but nearby vessels. For surface warfare, the ship carries two quad launchers for over-the-horizon anti-ship missiles, giving it a credible strike capability against surface combatants and high-value targets.

Just as significant, the corvette is designed to conduct serious anti-submarine warfare. The fit includes triple light torpedo launchers and a variable depth sonar, improving detection and tracking in the warm, acoustically challenging waters typical of the Red Sea and parts of the Gulf, where hull-mounted sonars can be degraded. Aviation facilities reinforce this role: Onaizah has a flight deck and enclosed hangar for a 10-ton class helicopter, providing an organic extension for surface surveillance, dipping sonar operations, and over-the-horizon targeting.

One of the clearest publicly documented activities for Unayzah to date is a Passing Exercise with the Hellenic Navy frigate HS Psara in the central Red Sea in August 2025. That deployment illustrates how quickly the ship has been integrated into routine partnership operations in strategically sensitive waters west of Jeddah. It also reflects a broader Saudi naval strategy focused on maintaining a persistent presence along two pressure points at once: the energy and infrastructure arteries of the Gulf and the Red Sea approaches tied to Suez-bound shipping.

Within that framework, Onaizah is not simply a smaller substitute for a frigate, but a high-end corvette optimized for escort, maritime security, and rapid response missions, while also serving as a platform for Saudi-localized combat system development aligned with Vision 2030 industrial objectives. The class has been explicitly linked to improved combat readiness, maritime security, and the localization of defense capability development and systems integration inside the Kingdom.

Its appearance at DIMDEX 2026, therefore, carries a dual message. To regional militaries and industry, it acts as a mobile demonstration of the Al Sarawat program’s weapon and sensor integration and Saudi Arabia’s growing confidence in operating modern, networked surface combatants. To Qatar and other Gulf observers, it underscores that the future naval balance in the region is being shaped not only by large frigates and destroyers, but by corvettes purpose-built for the precise threat environment now defining Middle Eastern maritime security.