Fincantieri delivers final Al Zubarah-class corvette to Qatar

Sumaysimah (F 104), the fourth and final Al Zubarah-class corvette on order for Qatar, was handed over during a ceremony held at Fincantieri's shipyard in Muggiano, La Spezia, on 16 May. (Fincantieri)

Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri has delivered the final Al Zubarah-class multirole corvette on order for the Qatari Emiri Navy.

Fourth-of-class Sumaysimah (F 104) was handed over during a ceremony held at Fincantieri's shipyard in Muggiano, La Spezia, on 16 May.

The four Al Zubarah-class corvettes were built by Fincantieri under a multiship contract awarded by the Ministry of Defence of Qatar in 2016. The order, worth EUR4 billion (USD4.34 billion), also includes the delivery of a landing platform dock (LPD) and two offshore patrol vessels (OPVs).

Sumaysimah was laid down on 13 February 2021 and launched in March 2022. Its delivery follows that of first-of-class Al Zubarah (F 101) on 28 October 2021, second ship Damsah (F 102) on 28 April 2022, and Al Khor (F 103) on 22 December 2022.

The class has a full-load displacement of 3,250 tonnes, an overall length of 107 m, and a 14.70 m beam. It is equipped with a combined diesel and diesel (CODAD) propulsion system that enables a maximum speed of 28 kt. The ships carry a crew complement of 98, with accommodation for an additional 14 personnel onboard.

The armament fit includes a 16-cell Sylver A-50 vertical launching system (VLS) for Aster 30 Block 1 air-defence missiles forward, a 21-cell Mk 49 launcher for RIM-116C Rolling Airframe Missiles (RAMs) on the hangar, two quad launchers for MM40 Exocet Block III anti-ship missiles, and a Leonardo 76 mm/62 Super Rapid gun.