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Al Madinah in 2017
Class overview
Name	Al Madinah class
Builders	Arsenal de Lorient, France CNIM,La Seyne, France
Operators	Royal Saudi Navy
Succeeded by	Al Riyadh class
Built	1981–1986
In commission	1985–present
Planned	4
Completed	4
Active	4
General characteristics
Type	Frigate
Displacement	1,990 tons standard 2610 tons full load
Length	377 ft 4 in (115.01 m)
Beam	41 ft (12 m)
Draught	15 ft 4 in (4.67 m)
Installed power	32,500 bhp (24,200 kW)
Propulsion	2 shaft, SEMT Pielstickdiesel engines
Speed	30knots (56 km/h; 35 mph)
Range	8,000 nmi (15,000 km; 9,200 mi) at 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement	179
Sensors & processing systems	Radars 2 x Decca 1226, Thompson CSF – Sea Tiger DRBV-15, DRBC-32E Castor 2 (fire control) Sonar Hull-mounted Thompson CSF Diodon, Diodon-Sorel VDS
Electronic warfare & decoys	Thompson CSF DR4000 ESM, SENIT VI CCS, Decoys: Two CSEE Dagaie chaff launchers
Armament	8 ×Otomat mk 2 anti ship missiles 1 ×100 mm/55 compact gun 2 × twin 40 mm/70 Breda Bofors guns 1 × 8-cellCrotale surface to air missile launcher (24 missiles) 4 × 550 mmtorpedo tubes (F17P torpedoes)
Aircraft carried	1 × SA365F Dauphin helicopter
Aviation facilities	Flight deck and hangar

TheAl Madinah class are a series of fourfrigates built in France for theRoyal Saudi Navy. The ships are named afterSaudi cities. The first,Al Madinah wascommissioned in 1985, and the fourth,Taif was commissioned in 1986. All fourAl Madinah-class frigates are based in theRed Sea.

The frigates were ordered in October 1980 as part of the "Sawari" programme. TheAl Madinah class was built in France at the Arsenal de Marine, Lorient (French Government Dockyard and CNIM, La Seyne in the mid-1980s. Their full loaddisplacement is 2,610 tons and they are armed with eightOtomatsurface-to-surface missiles, one 8-cellCrotalesurface-to-air missile launcher, with 26 missiles total. The vessels are also armed with one100 mm/55 dual purpose gun, two 40 mm anti-aircraft guns, fourtorpedo tubes. The frigates have an afthelicopter deck andhangar for use by oneDauphin helicopter.^[1]

In August 2013, theKingdom of Saudi Arabia and the French ODAS agency signed a contract to upgrade and modernize theAl Madinah-class frigates.^[2]

On 30 January 2017,Al Madinah was attacked byYemeniHouthi militia along the western coast of Yemen in the Red Sea. Two Saudi sailors were killed and three injured in the attack. Houthi forces claimed to have targeted the ship with a missile, but Saudi forces claim that the ship was hit by 3 "suicide boats".^[3][4]

• Gardiner, Robert, ed. (1995).Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947–1995.London: Conway Maritime.ISBN 0-85177-605-1.OCLC 34284130. Also published asGardiner, Robert; Chumbley, Stephen; Budzbon, Przemysław (1995).Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947–1995. Annapolis, MD:Naval Institute Press.ISBN 1-55750-132-7.OCLC 34267261.

• Ships of the Royal Saudi Navy
• Frigate classes

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