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*Tondar*-class fast attack craft
Class overview
Builders	Zhanjiang Shipyard, China
Operators	Navy of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
Preceded by	Type 021-class missile boat
Built	1991–1996
In service	1994–present
Planned	10
Completed	10
Active	10
General characteristics
Type	Fast attack craft
Displacement	174 tons standard; 208 tons full load;
Length	38.6 m (126 ft 8 in)
Beam	6.8 m (22 ft 4 in)
Draught	2.7 m (8 ft 10 in)
Installed power	Diesel
Propulsion	3 × diesel engines, 8,025 horsepower (5.984 MW); 3 × shafts;
Speed	35 knots (65 km/h)
Complement	3 officers and 25 sailors
Sensors and ; processing systems	Active radar homing; SR-47A surface search radar ; RM 1070-A navigation system; Type 341 Radar;
Armament	2 × twin missile launchers ; 2 × twin AK-230 guns; 2 × twin 23mm guns;

The Tondar class (Persian: تندر, lit. 'thunder', also known as Houdong class) consists of ten fast attack crafts operated by Navy of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran.^[1]

History

The negotiations to sign a contract for the vessels started in 1991, but was delayed for some time over the type of missiles installed on the ships.^[1] The ships were manufactured at Zhanjiang Shipyard, China and were delivered to Iran in two batches, the first five in September 1994 and the remaining in March 1996.^[1]

Design

Dimensions and machinery

The ships have a standard displacement of 174 tonnes (171 long tons) and 208 t (205 long tons) at full load.^[1] The class design is 38.6 m (127 ft) long, would have a beam of 6.8 m (22 ft) and a draft of 2.7 m (8 ft 10 in)^[1] and would have used three propeller shafts, powered by three diesel engines. This system was designed to provide 8,025 horsepower (5.984 MW) for a top speed of 35 knots (65 km/h).^[1]

Armament

According to the 2020 edition of "The Military Balance" published by the IISS, the ships are equipped with two twin launchers that fire Iranian-made AShM, Ghader.^[2] 2015–16 version of Jane's Fighting Ships however, had reported that the ships carry four Noor missiles.^[1] The missiles rely on active radar homing to 120 kilometres (65 nmi) at 0.9 Mach.^[1]

The close-in weapon system on the ships consists of two 30mm/65 twin AK-230 guns,^[1]^[2] while the secondary armament is two 23mm/87 twin guns.^[1]

Sensors and processing systems

Tondar-class vessels use Chinese SR-47A surface search radar and RM 1070-A navigation system, both working on I-band.^[1] For fire control, they use Type 341 Radar (also known as Rice Lamp) on I/J-band.^[1]

Ships in the class

The ships in the class which were renamed in c. 2006, are:^[1]

Ship	Namesake	Pennant number	Commissioned	Status
Shahid Mahdavi (ex-Fath)	Nader Mahdavi	P313-1 (ex 301)	September 1994	In service
Shahid Kord (ex-Nasr)	Bijan Kord	P313-2 (ex 302)	September 1994	In service
Shahid Shafiei (ex-Saf)	Nasrollah Shafiei	P313-3 (ex 303)	September 1994	In service
Shahid Tavassoli (ex-Ra'd)	Gholam-Hossein Tavassoli	P313-4 (ex 304)	September 1994	In service
Shahid Hojjatzadeh (ex-Fajr)		P313-5 (ex 305)	September 1994	In service
Shahid Dara (ex-Shmas)	Eshagh Dara	P313-6 (ex 306)	March 1996	In service
Shahid Absalan (ex-Me'raj)	Khodadad Absalan	P313-7 (ex 307)	March 1996	In service
Shahid Raeisi (ex-Falaq)	Asadollah Raeisi	P313-8 (ex 308)	March 1996	In service
Shahid Golzam (ex-Hadid)		P313-9 (ex 309)	March 1996	In service
Shahid Sohrabi (ex-Qadr)		P313-10 (ex 310)	March 1996	In service

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m 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. 388, ISBN 9780710631435, OCLC 919022075
^ ^a ^b 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.