The 71-metre NRA Nimi-ya-Lukeni (F301) was launched at ADSB’s Abu Dhabi shipyard on 29 October, EDGE announced on 4 November. It is the second of three multi-mission corvettes that ADSB is delivering to the Angolan Navy.
“Building the second corvette in Abu Dhabi is what genuine technology transfer should deliver,” said Khaled Al Zaabi, EDGE’s president for Platforms & Systems and chairman of ADSB. “ADSB has applied that knowledge in its own shipyard, and corvettes for this programme have now been launched in both France and the UAE.”
The lead vessel, NRA Ekuikui II (F300), was designed and built by CMN Naval and launched in Cherbourg, France, in March 2026. ADSB has also delivered 12-metre and 16-metre high-speed interceptors as part of the Angolan programme.
Each corvette will carry two HT-100 NAVAL vertical take-off and landing unmanned helicopters supplied by ANAVIA, EDGE’s Switzerland-based subsidiary. The aircraft will be integrated with the vessels’ combat management systems, combining ships and unmanned systems from businesses within the group.
All six helicopter systems have been delivered following Factory Acceptance Trials at ANAVIA’s facilities in Bilten, Switzerland, in August 2026. Their integration forms part of the programme’s combined naval platform and unmanned systems offering.
“This milestone is a credit to the engineers, production teams, technicians and industry partners behind it, and to the trust our Angolan customer has placed in ADSB,” Al Zaabi said. Angola’s ambassador to the UAE, Júlio Belarmino Gomes Maiato, attended the ceremony alongside Angolan naval and government representatives, EDGE and ADSB executives, and industry partners.
