Published in June, a new contract stipulated the need for additional design and engineering work for all 4 Multi-Mission Surface Combatants (MMSCs) for the Royal Saudi Navy (RSN). In particular, deficiencies with trial cards used to document issues with the ship along with newly identified discrepancies resulted in the need for additional work.
The additional design work will also resolve previously approved engineering changes/work left unfinished before each of the vessels deliveries. This work will affect all 4 MMSCs destined for the RSN, including the already launched HMS Saud (820), which hit the water at Fincanteri’s Marinette, Wisconsin shipyard in December of 2025 (with Naval News covering the vessel’s launch and history here).
The MMSC program has already lagged several years behind schedule, largely due to outstanding issues caused by the Covid-19 Pandemic, workforce availability issues, requested design changes by the Saudi Navy, and teething issues with an already new base design in the Freedom-class Littoral Combat Ship. Initial deadlines had deliveries of the class to NAVSEA’s PMS 525 program office (also known as the International Small Combatants program office) scheduled as complete by the end of 2025, but the program’s timeline remains uncertain.
The contract’s work will primarily be part of Post Shakedown Availabilities (PSAs), Industrial Post Delivery Availabilities (IPDAs), and Continuous Maintenance Availabilities periods over the next several years as each hull progresses through construction and fitting out. Facilities in Moorestown, New Jersey, and those close to Naval Station Mayport, will conduct the augmentations, with this round of construction finalized in 2031. Currently, the specific causes for this round of construction remain mostly unknown, but likely hint at the possibility for additional delays, possibly stretching the shipbuilding period for the MMSCs to well over a decade.
About the MMSC
As mentioned above, the MMSC is a design derivative of the Freedom-class Littoral Combat Ship currently in service with the United States Navy. The MMSC adds MBDA’s Sea Ceptor system using the Common Anti-air Modular Missile (CAMM) as the primary effector, with 32 CAMMs in total quad-packed into 8 Mk-41 Vertical Launch Cells. Additional design enhancements include mountings for 8 RGM-84 Harpoon Block II anti-ship missiles, 2 Narwhal 20mm Remote Weapons Stations by KNDS, Saab’s Ceros 200 fire control radar, and Indra’s Rigel electronic support measures system.
The Royal Saudi Navy’s MMSC program slots under the Tuwaiq project, with the ultimate goal of modernizing the capabilities currently present in the RSN via more advanced vessels/hardware, but also improved training and planning practices. The MMSCs still present the most advanced vessels once they are inducted formally into the Saudi Navy, however it remains uncertain when all 4 vessels will reach Saudi hands.
