Work has begun on three BR71 MKII Corvettes for the Angolan Navy at CMN yard in France.
CMN NAVAL and ADSB successfully conducted the simultaneous keel laying for the C200 blocks of the Angolan Navy BR71 Corvette program. The events took place in Cherbourg and Abu Dhabi last year October.
Steel was cut for the first corvette in December 2023 and the hull was laid down in March, with fitting out of the first vessel commencing ahead of delivery in 2026.
In February 2023, the Angolan government signed a landmark €1 billion contract with EDGE Group subsidiary, Abu Dhabi Ship Building (ADSB). Under this agreement, ADSB will construct a fleet of 3x 71-meter corvettes for the Angolan Navy.
The vessels will be armed with eight MBDA Exocet MM40 anti-ship missiles, MBDA VL Mica (8 cells) SAM missiles, Simbad-RC SAM, and 76 mm Super Rapid (SR) Shipboard Gun from Leonardo DRS.
According to Edge group, the 71-metre BR71 MK II Combattante vessel represents a powerful and exciting evolution and upgrade to the
CMN (Construction Mécaniques de Normandie) seaproven Baynunah class. The corvettes will be based on ADSB’s BR71 MK II design, which is an improved version of the six Baynunah-class ships that French company CMN delivered to the UAE Navy with ADSB’s assistance. Designed by CMN for littoral warfare defence operations against air and surface threats and a range of surveillance missions, the platform is fast, powerful, compact and modular.
David Massey, CEO of ADSB said: “At ADSB, we feel a tremendous sense of pride in signing a EUR 1 billion export deal. The BR71 MKII corvette is a highly advanced vessel capable of performing multiple missions to secure Angola’s 1600 km coastline. We look forward to fulfilling the Angolan Navy’s operational requirements and strengthening their naval capabilities while expanding ADSB’s avenues of growth.”
It was also announced during IDEX that ADSB had signed an agreement with Elettronica, an Italian company that contributed to the Baynunah programme, to supply their electronic warfare systems.
Angola’s official news agency reported that minister of defence João Ernesto dos Santos attended IDEX and discussed increasing military co-operation with his Emirati counterpart, Mohammed Ahmed al-Bowardi, but did not mention the corvette order.
Elettronica said the selection of its electronic warfare equipment by Abu Dhabi Ship Building came on the back of previous successful integration programmes between the two companies “and this new collaboration confirms the commitment to keep working together.”
The Angolan Navy has previously contracted the French company CMN for naval vessels, it recently took delivery of the first of three Ocean Eagle trimaran patrol boats from French shipbuilder CMN (Construction Mecanique de Normandie) in November 2022.
In July 2023, Angola took delivery of 70-meter landing ship from French CMN
