DCNS Started The Construction of The First GOWIND 2500 Corvette for The Egyptian Navy

On April 16 2015, DCNS started cutting metal for the very first GOWIND® 2500 corvette under construction in Lorient, in the presence of high representatives of the Egyptian Navy. This vessel is the first of a series of four units that will be delivered to Egypt before 2019.

The cutting of the first metal sheets for the first GOWIND® 2500 corvette built in Lorient symbolises the launch of the ambitious industrial program conducted by DCNS for the Egyptian Navy. It includes the construction of four latest-generation corvettes, both in France and Egypt. The delivery of the first vessel is slated for 2017, i.e., less than four years after the signature of the contract last summer. 

A new international success for DCNS
In the frame of an international call for tender, DCNS was able to offer the best product at the most attractive cost. The Group was able to comply with the very tight deadlines to adapt the product to the specific needs of this client for the construction of the vessels in France and in Egypt via technology transfer.

With this contract, DCNS has scored another success for the GOWIND® 2500. The Group had already won a first contract for the Royal Malaysian Navy, which covers the design and construction of six corvettes in Malaysia at the Boustead Naval Shipyard through technology transfer.

The first Egyptian GOWIND® 2500 corvette will be built on the DCNS site in Lorient, one of the most modern naval shipyards in Europe. The three following units will be built in Alexandria within the frame of a construction technology transfer agreement. “This industrial milestone is the concrete output of preliminary work to adapt the vessel to the specific needs of the Egyptian Navy, conducted over the last nine months by the DCNS teams. Today, we have started the construction of the very first GOWIND® 2500 corvette, the reference product on the corvette market. We are proud to produce this latest-generation vessel for the Egyptian Navy, declares Bruno Chapeland, director of the Egypt GOWIND® program at DCNS.

A long-term partnership
Over the last year DCNS has established strategic relations with Egypt in the frame of the modernisation of the country’s surface fleet. The sale of a FREMM multi-mission frigate in February 2015 and four GOWIND® 2500 corvettes in July 2014 are a demonstration of the trust placed in the Group. DCNS is pursuing a long-term partnership with the Egyptian Navy and Egyptian industry.

DCNS will provide them with its knowledge for the construction of three high-technology corvettes and the through-life support for an equally modern FREMM frigate. DCNS thus demonstrates the attractiveness of its corvettes and frigates as well as its experience in technology transfer.


Efficient industrial infrastructures
The start of production of the future Egyptian GOWIND® 2500 corvette underlines DCNS’s industrial capacity to manage and realise major programs in France. The DCNS site in Lorient is specialised in the design and construction of surface vessels of 1,000 to 8,000 tonnes. Currently, DCNS is simultaneously building there five FREMM frigates for the French Navy and the GOWIND® corvette for the Egyptian Navy. The DCNS teams are also preparing the delivery of the currently so-called FREMM Normandie, for Egypt.

Technical characteristics of the GOWIND® 2500
The GOWIND® 2500 is a reference product on the worldwide corvette market. This vessel responds to the needs of navies to have access to a complete and multi-mission combat vessel for sovereignty and maritime protection operations and the fight against illicit trafficking. Ten corvettes have already been ordered by our international partners: Malaysia (6 units) and Egypt (4 units).

The GOWIND® 2500 is bristling with the very latest technological advances, developed and implemented by DCNS for naval defence. It incorporates the SETIS combat system, developed by DCNS for FREMM frigates and GOWIND® corvettes, the “Panoramic Sensors and Intelligence Module (PSIM)” – an assembly bringing together the integrated mast with its various instruments as well as the Operational Centre and its associated technical rooms – and the high degree of integration, automation and conviviality of the DCNS systems.

Total length: 102 metres
Width: 16 metres
Displacement: 2,600 tonnes
Max. speed: 25 knots
Crew: 65 persons (helicopter detachment included)
Range: 3,700 nautical miles at 15 knots

Weapons: 8x Exocet MM40 Block 3 anti-ship missiles, 16x VL MICA surface to air missiles (both by MBDA), Torpedoes, a 76mm main gun (Oto Melara), 2x 20mm remote weapon stations and Sylena decoy launcher by Lacroix.

Sensors: Smart-S Mk2 radar, Kingklip hull mounted sonar, Captas 2 variable depth sonar, Vigile 200 Radar - ESM, Altesse Communication - ESM (all by Thales).