Fincantieri press release

The ceremony took place today at the Muggiano shipyard (La Spezia) and marks the completion of a significant naval program for the Qatari Navy, which also included the delivery of four “Al Zubarah-class” corvettes and two “Musherib-class” Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs).

The event was attended, among others, by the Commander of the Qatar Emiri Naval Forces, Staff Major General Abdulla Bin Hassan Al Sulaiti, and the Director of Italian Navy Military Personnel Directorate, Vice Admiral Andrea Gueglio, welcomed by Fincantieri’s CEO and General Manager, Pierroberto Folgiero, and by the General Manager of the Naval Vessels Division, Dario Deste.

“Al Fulk”, built at the Group’s yards in Palermo and Muggiano, is designed according to RINAMIL standards, which govern the classification of naval vessels, ensuring exceptional performance in air, sea, and land operations. Its versatile design allows the vessel to undertake a range of missions, from humanitarian aid to defense operations and support for ground forces.

The vessel is approximately 143 meters long and 21.5 meters wide, and it can accommodate up to 550 people on board. It is equipped with a large flight deck that can host NH90 helicopters, a spacious garage with two vehicle ramps, and a floodable internal dock capable of deploying landing craft.

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About LPD Al Fulk

The main mission of the vessel will be air defense. It will work in conjunction with the Al Zubarah-class air defense corvettes and share long range air picture with them. The LPD will be fitted with a Kronos multifunction radar (similar to the one fitted on the corvettes) as well as a new L-Band radar by Leonardo known as Kronos Power Shield. Naval News understands this radar was too large to be fitted on the corvette, this is why this solution (corvette + LPD) was proposed to fit the unique requirement of the Qatar Emiri Naval Forces.

The vessel was launched on January 24, 2023, in Palermo.

Another unique feature of this LPD is the fact it is fitted with two 8-cell VLS Sylver A50 for medium-range surface-to-air missile system which MBDA has indicated as the Aster 30 Block 1 munitions as part of the SAAM-ESD air-defence system. Although Fincantieri hasn’t released information or commented the AAW capabilities of the LPD, the combination of the MBDA SAAM-ESD with Aster 30 Block 1 missile system, the Leonardo Kronos AESA multifunction radar and the early-detection information from the Kronos Power Shield, all together can provide tactical ballistic missiles defense as similarly offered by the ground-based SAMP/T but with enhanced capabilities, Naval News understood. 

The ships will be fitted with the Sylena MK2 decoy launching systems by Lacroix.

For the record, a global order worth 5 billion euros (including 1 billion for missiles) was announced in August 2017. In addition to four air defense corvettes, the contract includes the construction of two OPV/FACM type ships based on the Falaj 2-class (selected by the UAE Navy) and an air defense LPD (fitted with long range L-band radar and ASTER 30 SAM) based on the “BDSL Kalaat Beni Abbes” (143 meters long, 9,000 tonnes displacement), which was delivered in 2015 by Fincantieri to Algeria.