The frigate Al Dammam, is an expanded anti-air version of the French, displacing about and extended to 133m (436feet) in length.[1]
The ships' combat system, produced by Armaris (a Direction des Constructions Navales/Thales Group joint venture), is armed with Aster 15 Surface to Air Missiles (SAM) launched from SYLVER vertical launchers (SYLVER - SYstème de Lancement VERtical). As with the La Fayette class, the primary offensive weapon is the anti-surface Exocet missile. The ships' main gun is the OTO Melara 76 mm super-rapid firing gun replacing the modèle 100 TR automatic gun of the La Fayette. There are also four aft-mounted 533mm torpedo tubes, firing DTCN F17 heavyweight anti-submarine torpedoes. Al Riyadh is capable of a maximum speed of ~46km/h with a maximum range of 13000km (8,000miles).[2]
Al Dammam was launched on 7 September 2002 at the DCNS shipyard in Lorient and commissioned on 23 October 2004.
Three Al Riyadh-class frigates have been built: