Gowind 2500. Marine premiere

The El Fateh prototype first went to sea on 13 March. Corvettes of the Gowind 2500 type claim to participate in the tender for the Mechnik coastal defense ships.

At the beginning of this century, DCNS was not interested in designing corvettes for export, having success in the segment of larger surface units - light frigates based on the revolutionary Lafayette type. The situation changed in the middle of the last decade, when patrol ships and corvettes became increasingly popular among the world's fleets. At that time, the French manufacturer introduced the Gowind type in its offer.

Gowind made its first appearance at the Euronaval 2004 showroom in Paris. Then a series of models of similar units was shown, slightly differing in displacement, dimensions, thrust, and hence speed and armament. Rumors soon spread of Bulgaria's interest in the project, and the next edition of Euronaval in 2006 brought little sensation - a model with the Bulgarian flag and the basic specification of the unit that the country was to order. The matter dragged on for subsequent years, but in the end - unfortunately for the French - the Bulgarians did not turn out to be serious partners and nothing came of the agreement.

The next Euronaval was the venue for the unveiling of a new vision for Gowind. This time, in accordance with market expectations, the series was divided more logically - into offensive and non-combat ships. Variant names: Combat, Action, Control and Presence describe their use. The most combative of them, i.e. Combat and Action, corresponding to corvettes and derivatives of large missile-armed patrol ships, and the remaining two, slightly different in size and equipment, were in response to the demand for Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV, offshore patrol vessel) units for government agencies, which are intended for supervision over the sphere of interests of the state, i.e. operate in an era of low risk of high-intensity conflict. Therefore, simple scaling was replaced by a division according to the application and usability of individual versions. However, this did not win orders, so DCNS chose an interesting marketing ploy.

In 2010, it was decided to independently finance the construction of the WPV, corresponding to the idea of ​​the simplest type of Gowind Presence. L`Adroit was created in the shortest possible time (May 30 - June 2010) for approximately 2011 million euros, leased in 2012 to Marine Nationale for extensive testing. This was supposed to bring mutual benefits, consisting in the acquisition by the company of the advantage in the form of OPV ("battle-proven"), tested in real sea operations, strengthening the export potential, while the French Navy, preparing to replace patrol fleets, could test the unit and determine requirements for the construction of a series of ships in the target version. However, L'Adroit is by definition not a combat unit, it is built on the basis of civilian standards. During this time, DCNS divided the family down to the Gowind 2500 corvette and the Gowind 1000 patrol ship.

The first success of the "combat" version of the Gowind came with a contract at the end of 2011 for six second generation patrol ships (SGPV) for the Malaysian Navy. The misleading name of the program hides the correct picture of a well-armed corvette or even a small frigate with a total displacement of 3100 tons and a length of 111 m.

The construction of the SGPV prototype based on technology transfer did not begin until late 2014, and the keel was laid on March 8, 2016 at the local Bousted Heavy Industries shipyard in Lumut. Its launch is scheduled for August this year, and delivery - the next.

Meanwhile, Gowind found a second buyer - Egypt. In July 2014, a contract was signed for 4 corvettes with an option for an additional pair (with a high probability of using it) for about 1 billion euros. The first one is being built at the DCNS shipyard in Lorient. In July 2015, sheet cutting began, and on September 30 of the same year, the keel was laid. The contract called for building a prototype in just 28 months. El Fateha was launched on September 17, 2016. He made his first exit to the sea quite recently - on March 13. The ship should be delivered in the second half of the year. All indications are that the record deadlines will be met.