The Ministry of Defense is modernising the Royal Saudi Naval Forces through two strategic projects, Sarawat and Tuwaiq, under the ministry's development program. The program was launched on the vision of His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, and its document was approved on 26 February 2018 by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Supreme Commander of all military forces.

Sarawat aims to build eight modern Avante 2200 corvettes. Its first phase covered five ships, HMS Al-Jubail, HMS Al-Diriyah, HMS Hail, HMS Jazan and HMS Unaizah, while the second covers HMS Al-Madinah, HMS NEOM and HMS AlUla, along with a training plan for more than 100 Saudi engineers.

On 4 December 2023, Prince Khalid bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Minister of Defense, attended the launch of HMS Jazan at King Faisal Naval Base of the Western Fleet in Jeddah. It was the first ship in the project to have its systems completed and its acceptance tests carried out on Saudi soil and in Saudi waters. The project has also produced Hazm, the first Saudi naval battle management system.

Sarawat is the result of a partnership between Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI) and Spain's Navantia, supported by the General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI) through an industrial participation agreement focused on localising technology, transferring knowledge and building national capabilities.

Tuwaiq involves building four multi-mission surface combatants (MMSC): HMS King Saud, HMS King Fahd, HMS King Abdullah and HMS King Salman. It also includes upgrading King Abdulaziz Naval Base in Jubail and setting up advanced maintenance and training facilities, in cooperation with Lockheed Martin and Fincantieri under the defence partnership between the Kingdom and the United States, and with GAMI's involvement.

According to the ministry, the two projects combine modern combat systems, localised military industries, trained national talent and upgraded naval infrastructure, in line with the goals of Saudi Vision 2030.