French electro-optics firm HGH will equip the eight offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) of Kuwait’s Al Dorra program with its SPYNEL 360-degree infrared surveillance systems, the company said on 25 June. The contract was signed with Abu Dhabi Ship Building (ADSB), the naval arm of the UAE’s EDGE Group.
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What HGH is supplying
HGH’s SPYNEL cameras provide continuous 360-degree infrared coverage, paired with the company’s CYCLOPE detection-and-tracking software. On the Al Dorra ships, the sensors will be integrated into Leonardo‘s combat management system (CMS), the software that fuses a warship’s sensors and weapons.
The deal builds on existing HGH–ADSB work. HGH has already supplied eight SPYNEL systems for four OPVs under the UAE Navy’s own Falaj 3 program — the same base design Kuwait is buying.
“This major order confirms the strength of our partnership with ADSB,” said Cyril Marchebout, HGH’s sales director. He added that the company plans a regional hub in the UAE to support Gulf customers.
The Al Dorra (Falaj 3) program
The Al Dorra class is Kuwait’s version of the Falaj 3 OPV. ADSB is building eight of them for the Kuwait Naval Force under a head contract worth about AED 9 billion (US$2.45 billion), signed with Kuwait’s Ministry of Defence in June 2025. ADSB has described it as the largest naval shipbuilding export in Middle Eastern history, with all eight ships due within five to six years.
The first vessel, Al Noukhitha (P 6202), was launched at ADSB in February 2026. Each ship is 62.7 metres long, displaces about 641 tonnes, and reaches 25 knots, with a range of 2,000 nautical miles at 16 knots.
A widening Gulf naval build-up
The SPYNEL order sits alongside a larger combat-systems contract. In May, Leonardo signed a deal worth around €320 million with ADSB to supply the Al Dorra ships’ combat management systems, as Quwa reported.
The program is being delivered by an Emirati prime contractor, ADSB, rather than a Western or Asian shipyard. It forms part of a wider naval build-up across the Gulf, and draws in European suppliers such as HGH and Leonardo as subsystem providers.
