A Nimr Jais Mk 2 is seen during the Saudi naval parade in Al-Jubail. (Saudi Ministry of Defense)
The Royal Saudi Naval Forces (RSNF) publicly displayed its new Jais Mk 2 4Γ4 armoured vehicles for the first time during a parade in Al-Jubail to mark Saudi National Day on 22 September.
A video showed six Jais Mk 2s in the parade, all of them badged as Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI) products, while the Saudi Ministry of Defense (MoD) released a photograph showing two with the badge of the Emirati company Nimr. All the vehicles were fitted with remotely operated weapon stations that looked like the Guardian 2 made by Spain's Escribano Mechanical and Engineering (EM&E) with .50 heavy machine guns.
The Jais Mk 2 is a significantly improved version of the Jais that Nimr, which is part of the Edge group, delivered to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Armed Forces, with the enhancements focusing primarily on improving its survivability. The armour has been upgraded, with weight savings made elsewhere in the vehicle to compensate, and an emergency fuel tank added that is protected by armour and provides a range of 50 km.
Changes have also been made to upgrade its maintainability by improving access to its critical systems, which has resulted in a larger engine compartment.
A batch of Jais Mk 2s were being produced at the Nimr factory in Abu Dhabi when Janes visited in February, with company representatives saying 150 were being built for a foreign customer they could not identify. The vehicles had labels identifying SAMI as the customer.
During the visit, Janes
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