The launching ceremony took place as part of the EDEX 2023 defense exhibition, which will be held from 4 to 7 December at the Egypt International Exhibition Center in Cairo. Egypt’s President Abdelfettah Al Sisi attended the ceremony as the chief guest alongside other high-ranking officials.
Egypt has ordered four identical frigates, with the first three units constructed in Germany and the fourth ship being built by the Alexandria shipyard in Egypt. The construction contract was signed in September 2018.
The lead vessel of the class, the Al Aziz (904), was delivered on October 14, 2022 and was commissioned in Egypt in November 2022. The second frigate of the class, Al Qahhar (905), was commissioned in May 2023. The third frigate in the project, the Al Qadeer (909), was launched in April 2022.
About MEKO A200 frigate
The MEKO A200 design is based on the MEKO family of warships, which are modular and adaptable vessels designed by the German shipbuilding company Blohm+Voss (now part of ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems). These frigates are known for their flexibility in design, allowing different navies to customize them to meet their specific requirements.
The frigates are 121 meters long, have a beam of 16.4 meters and a draft of 4.4 meters. The 3700-ton frigates are powered by a CODAG (combined gas turbine and diesel) propulsion system, which includes a GE LM2500 gas turbine and two MTU 16V 1163 TB93 diesel engines that give the ship a top speed of 28 knots.
The class will be heavily armed with a Leonardo 127/64 LW 127 mm main gun (possibly with VULCANO ammunition), 16x MM-40 Exocet block 3 anti-ship missiles, 32x VLS for MBDA VL MICA NG surface to air missiles (the ship is the first platform and customer for this new missile). The MEKO A200 frigates are also armed with 2×2 MU90 Eurotorp torpedoes for ASW targets.
The sensor suite includes Thales NS110 Air and Surface surveillance radar, Thales STIR fire control radar, Thales Mirador optronic director and Atlas Elektronik hull-mounted sonar and a low frequency towed array sonar.
