The first of four long-delayed Multi-Mission Surface Combatant (MMSC) ships being built for the Royal Saudi Naval Forces (RSNF) under Project Tuwaiq has been formally launched at Fincantieri Marinette Marine’s shipyard in Wisconsin.
Richard Scott story, additional reporting by Xavier Vavasseur
A blessing ceremony for first-of-class HMS Saud (820) was held at the Marinette yard on 13 December. The vessel had been rolled out from the building shed to the waterfront on 27 October this year. Pictures by local ship spotter Skip Heckel show the vessel actually entered the water on December 20, 2025 with a new syncrolift. Naval News understands the MMSC is the first vessel ever to be floated with this new syncrolift which is part of the shipyard’s investment to support the now cancelled Constellation-class frigate program.
On this occasion, RSNF Chief of Naval Staff Lieutenant General Mohammed Al-Ghuraibi noted that the Tuwaiq Project is one of the key and strategic projects in the development journey of the RSNF, embodying the Kingdom’s direction toward building a modern and professional naval force based on the latest military technologies, alongside advanced training and qualification programs for its personnel. He added that the project enhances the readiness of the RSNF to protect the Kingdom’s strategic interests and secure vital maritime routes, pointing out that the project’s ships are equipped with the latest advanced combat systems that enable them to carry out various naval warfare missions and engage aerial, surface, and subsurface targets.
The four MMSC vessels – a multi-mission derivative of the US Navy’s Freedom variant Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) – are being procured by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia under a Foreign Military Sales (FMS) case signed in May 2017. The class is intended to form the backbone of a recapitalised RSNF eastern fleet (called Saudi Naval Expansion Program II).
Lockheed Martin is prime contractor for the Tuwaiq programme, with Gibbs & Cox (part of Leidos) undertaking functional design, and Fincantieri Marinette Marine responsible for ship construction. The scope of the FMS case also includes RSNF crew training, and shore support training and integration.
The MMSC is based on the same 118 m hull and combined diesel and gas propulsion system as the Freedom variant LCS. However, it departs from the LCS ‘mission module’ concept and instead embodies a full multi-mission combat system including MBDA’s Sea Ceptor system (using Common Anti-air Modular Missile effectors quad-packed in an eight-cell Mk 41 vertical launcher module forward of the superstructure), two quad launchers for Boeing Harpoon anti-ship missiles, and two Nexter Narwhal 20 mm remote weapon stations. Other key changes from the US Navy’s Freedom variant LCS baseline include the addition of a Saab Ceros 200 fire control radar and integration of Indra’s Rigel electronic support measures system.
Equipment common to the Freedom variant LCS late build standard includes the Lockheed Martin COMBATSS-21 combat management system (built from the Aegis Common Source Library), Hensoldt TRS-4D multimode surveillance radar, BAE Systems’ Mk 110 57mm medium-calibre gun, Raytheon Mk 15 Mod 31 SeaRAM inner-layer missile system, and Lockheed Martin’s ALEX 130 mm decoy launching system.
The MMSC also features aviation facilities to operate and support an MH-60R helicopter flight, plus an unmanned aerial vehicle. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has acquired a fleet of 10 MH-60R helicopters under a separate FMS case.
The MMSC program is running several years behind schedule. Ship deliveries to the Naval Sea Systems Command’s (NAVSEA’s) International Small Combatants program office (PMS 525) were originally planned to have completed by the end of 2025 (PMS 525 is assigned by the US Navy to lead and manage efforts related to the acquisition of small surface combatants for overseas customers).
However, the MMSC program has suffered repeated schedule slippages. These have been attributed to shipyard discontinuities arising from the Covid period, workforce shortages in the yard, the time required to complete the MMSC design, and design changes requested by the Saudi customer.
