Moudge-class frigate

IRIS Deylaman, the most recent ship of the class
Class overview
NameMoudge
Builders
Operators Islamic Republic of Iran Navy
Preceded byAlvand class
Built2001–present
In service2010–present
Planned7
Building2
Completed5
Active4
Lost2
General characteristics
TypeFrigate
Displacement1,500 tonnes[1]
Length95 m (311.7 ft)[1]
Beam11.1 m (36.4 ft)[1]
Draught3.25 m (10.7 ft)[1]
Propulsion
  • 2 × 10,000 hp (7,500 kW) engines
  • 4 × 740 hp (550 kW) diesel generators[2]
Speed30 knots (55.6 km/h)[2]
Complement140
Sensors and
processing systems		Asr 3D PESA long-range Radar
Electronic warfare
& decoys		2 × 8 tube chaff launcher
Armament
  • Naval guns
  • Surface to air missiles
  • Surface to Surface missile
    • 4 × Noor or Qader anti-ship missiles (Some ships are equipped with 8 anti-ship missiles)
  • Anti-submarine warfare
    • 2 × triple 324 mm torpedoes
Aircraft carried1 × Bell 214 ASW helicopter
Aviation facilitiesHelicopter landing pad

The Moudge or Mowj or Moj (Persian: موج, lit. 'wave') is a class of domestically-produced Iranian light frigates.

History

A Moudge-class ship was first reported to be under construction in 2001.[3] Warship International wrote in 2008 that four ships of this class were under construction: Mowj (376) launched on 22 February 2007, Jamaran (377) launched on 28 November 2007, as well as Azarakhsh (378) and Tondar (379).[4]

The first ship, Jamaran is said to be completed and is stationed in the port of Bandar Abbas. Damavand is the second ship in this class.[5] According to OSGEOINT, Damavand was constructed at the Shahid Tamjidi Marine Industries (STMI) fabrication shop on the Caspian Sea at Bandar-e Anzali.[6] The frigate was launched in March 2013.[citation needed]

Damavand, based out of Bandar-Anzali on the Caspian Sea, ran aground on a concrete breakwater in the vicinity of its home port on 10 January 2018. It is believed probable that the incident was the result of navigational error, affected by a strong storm in the area, which created high wave heights and low visibility in the area. During the incident, six members of the ship's crew fell overboard. Four of those crew members were later rescued, and two were considered missing by media sources. The Iranian Navy declined to confirm the reporting. There has been little information released in reference to the cause of the grounding, with the exception of statements of wave height and visibility caused by the storm at the time of the grounding.

Damavand is currently listed as actively commissioned. Photos from 2018 show that the ship's hull has broken apart near the waterline approximately at the start of the ship's aircraft deck.[7]

Iranian Navy commissioned Dena with a ceremony held in Bandar Abbas on 14 June 2021.[8]

Future units of the Modge class are set to be equipped with the Sayyad-2 anti-aircraft missiles.[9]

During construction, frigate Talaiyeh suddenly capsized while in dry dock. Killing one Navy personnel, no official reports have been released by the Iranian authorities.

Whilst in port at Bandas Abbas Sahand capsized on the 7 July 2024 before sinking on 9 July.[10]

Classification

Iran officially classifies these ships as destroyers, but this is rejected by most navies internationally.[11] Alternatively, they have also been described as destroyer escorts.[12]

Sources differ in specifying the type of the class, either as light frigate or corvette.[13]

Jane's Fighting Ships classifies the class as FFG of frigate[14] while the Military Balance of the International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS), designates the ships in the class as FSGM or corvette.[15]

Ships in the class

Ship Pennant
number 		Shipyard Laid down Launched Commissioned Status
Jamaran 76 Naval Factories, Bandar Abbas 2001[3] or 2004[14] 28 November 2007[16] 19 February 2010[14] In active service
Damavand 77 Shahid Tamjidi, Bandar Anzali 2009[14] 28 November 2007[4] 9 March 2015[17] Sunk during storm in the Caspian Sea on January 28, 2018 and scrapped, replacement vessel Deylaman was constructed.
Sahand 74 Naval Factories, Bandar Abbas 2010[14] 18 September 2012[18] 1 December 2018[19] Sunk on 9 July 2024 before pulling out of water on 22 July and now under repair
Dena 75 Shahid Darvishi, Bandar Abbas 2012[14] 2015[14] 13 June 2021[8] In active service
Shiraz (ex-Talaieh) TBA Naval Factories, Bandar Abbas 2013[14] 2016[14] Un­known Under construction[20] Accidentally overturned during construction and is being repaired.[21]
Taftan TBA Shahid Darvishi, Bandar Abbas 2014[14] 2017[14] Un­known Under construction[20]
Deylaman 78 Shahid Tamjidi, Bandar Anzali 2017 Un­known 27 November 2023[22] Replacement vessel instead of Damavand,[23] in active service.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Jamaran frigate". Defense Industries Organization. Archived from the original on July 17, 2007.
  2. ^ a b "Modge frigate". Defense Industries Organization. Archived from the original on July 17, 2007.
  3. ^ a b Silverstone, Paul H. (2001), "Naval Intelligence", Warship International, 38 (4), International Naval Research Organization: 346, JSTOR 44895663
  4. ^ a b Silverstone, Paul H. (2008), "Naval Intelligence", Warship International, 45 (1), International Naval Research Organization: 13–14, JSTOR 44895054
  5. ^ "Destroyer production line inaugurated in Iran (Wave II)". Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA). 23 February 2007. Archived from the original on 7 February 2012.
  6. ^ "The Second Moje Class Frigate at Shahid Tamjidi Marine Industries". OSGEOINT. 26 January 2012.
  7. ^ "Destroyer of the Navy of Iran Flew into a Breakwater in the Caspian Sea | Maritime Herald". Archived from the original on 2018-01-31. Retrieved 2018-01-20.
  8. ^ a b Archus, Dorian (15 June 2021). "Iran commissions indigenous destroyer "Dena" and minehunter "Shahin" - Naval Post". Retrieved 2021-06-15.
  9. ^ "Iran Mulling Change in Sayyad Missiles to Mount It on Mowj-Class Vessels". Fars News Agency. 27 January 2014. Archived from the original on 30 June 2015. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
  10. ^ "Iranian warship Sahand entirely sinks despite rebalancing efforts". Deccan Herald. Reuters. Retrieved 2024-07-09.
  11. ^ "Iran adds a sophisticated warship to its Caspian Sea fleet". Associated Press News. 27 November 2023.
  12. ^ "IRIN Jamaran (76) Guided Missile Frigate / Destroyer Escort".
  13. ^ Cordesman, Anthony (2016), "The Gulf: How Dangerous is Iran to International Maritime Security?", in Krause, Joachim; Bruns, Sebastian (eds.), Routledge Handbook of Naval Strategy and Security, Routledge, p. 107, ISBN 9781138840935
  14. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Saunders, Stephen; Philpott, Tom, eds. (2015), "Iran", IHS Jane's Fighting Ships 2015–2016, Jane's Fighting Ships (116th Revised ed.), Coulsdon: IHS Jane's, p. 385, ISBN 9780710631435, OCLC 919022075
  15. ^ The International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS) (2020). "Middle East and North Africa". The Military Balance 2020. Vol. 120. Routledge. p. 350. doi:10.1080/04597222.2020.1707968. ISBN 9780367466398. S2CID 219624897.
  16. ^ Silverstone, Paul H. (2007), "Naval Intelligence", Warship International, 44 (3), International Naval Research Organization: 227, JSTOR 44895166
  17. ^ Silverstone, Paul H. (September 2015), "Naval Intelligence", Warship International, 52 (3), International Naval Research Organization: 188, JSTOR 44894486
  18. ^ Silverstone, Paul H. (March 2013), "Naval Intelligence", Warship International, 50 (1), International Naval Research Organization: 14, JSTOR 44893820
  19. ^ Heavens, Louise, ed. (1 December 2018), "Iran navy launches stealth warship in the Gulf", Reuters
  20. ^ a b "Iranian navy building 3 new destroyers: Sayyari", Mehr News Agency, 27 September 2019, 150535, retrieved 15 July 2020
  21. ^ "今日头条". www.toutiao.com. Retrieved 2022-02-13.
  22. ^ "Iran's New Destroyer Goes in Service in Caspian Sea". Tasnim News Agency. 2023-11-27. Retrieved 2023-11-28.
  23. ^ "ناو جدید "دماوند" به‌زودی به نیروی دریایی ارتش الحاق می‌شود- اخبار نظامی | دفاعی | امنیتی - اخبار سیاسی تسنیم | Tasnim". خبرگزاری تسنیم | Tasnim (in Persian). Retrieved 2023-07-02.

Media related to Mouge class frigate at Wikimedia Commons