Badr-class corvette

The Badr class is a class of corvette built by the United States and operated by the Saudi Navy. The class has been relegated to a coastal defence role following the modernisation of the Saudi fleet. There are four vessels in service; SAUDI CORVETTE Badr, SAUDI CORVETTE Al Yarmook, SAUDI CORVETTE Hitteen and SAUDI CORVETTE Tabuk.

Design
In January 1972, Saudi Arabia signed an agreement with the United States to set up a 10-year programme to greatly enlarge the Saudi Navy, previously a small coastal patrol force. The programme envisaged the construction in the United States of a series of corvettes as well as other warships such as minesweepers and amphibious warfare ships. As part of this programme, on 30 August 1977, an order was placed with the Tacoma Boatbuilding Company of Tacoma, Washington for 4 missile-armed corvettes, with delivery expected between 1980 and 1981.

The four ships, at first known by the US-Navy style designation of "PCG", and later as the Badr-class, are 74.68 m long overall, with a beam of 9.60 m and a draught of 2.59 m. Displacement was intended as 720 LT, but the ships were completed significantly overweight, and were recorded as displacing 903 LT standard and 1038 LT full load in 1995. They are powered by one General Electric LM2500 gas turbine rated at 23000 shp and two MTU 12V625 TB91 diesel engines (rated at a total of 3058 bhp) in a Combined Diesel and Gas (CODAG) arrangement, driving two controllable pitch propellers. This gives a maximum speed of 30 kn when using the gas turbine and 21 kn on diesel. The ships have a range of 4000 nmi at 20 kn.

Principal anti-ship armament consists of eight Harpoon anti-ship missiles, with a gun armament of a single OTO Melara 76 mm gun forward, one Vulcan Phalanx close-in weapon system (CIWS) aft, two Oerlikon 20 mm cannon, an 81 mm mortar, and two 40 mm Mk 19 grenade launchers. Anti-submarine armament consisted of two triple Mark 32 Surface Vessel Torpedo Tubes for Mark 46 torpedoes. SPS-40B air search radar and SPS-55 navigation/surface search radars are carried, while a Mark 92 fire control radar is fitted above the ship's bridges. SQS-56 hull-mounted sonar is carried to direct the ships' torpedo tubes.