 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (January 2013) |
 Al Tadjier underway in 1983
| |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | Assad class |
| Operators | |
| Subclasses | Laksamana class |
| Built | 1981-1988 |
| In commission | 1995-present |
| Planned | 10 |
| Completed | 10 |
| Active | 5 |
| Lost | 2 |
| Retired | 3 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Corvette |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 62.3 m (204 ft) |
| Beam | 9.3 m (31 ft) |
| Draft | 2.8 m (9.2 ft) |
| Propulsion | 4 shaft MTU 16V 956 TB91 diesel engines, 24,400 hp (18,200 kW) |
| Speed | 37.5 knots (69.5 km/h) |
| Range | 4,000 nmi (4,600 mi) at 18 knots (33 km/h) |
| Complement | 51 |
| Armament |
|
The Assad-class corvette were originally built for Iraq during the Iran–Iraq War, by Fincantieri in Italy. Six ships were ordered in 1981. They were completed just before Operation Desert Storm, and were never delivered due to embargoes by the Italian government.[1][2]
Four of the six ships were sold to the Malaysian Navy as Laksamana-class corvettes in 1995. The two remaining ships were laid up in La Spezia from 1990, but in 2005 it was announced they would be delivered to the New Iraqi Navy.[3] The deal, however was later cancelled due to the condition of the ships upon inspection. On 19 May 2017, it was reported that the remaining two vessels would be delivered to the Iraq Navy after 26 years. They eventually left La Spezia on a semi-submersible carrier Eide Trader on 22 May and reached Iraq in June 2017.[citation needed]
The Libyan Navy operated four craft but their fate is unknown. Al Tadjier is believed to have been destroyed by US Navy aircraft. The other ships that served with the Libyan navy were Al Tougour, Al Kalij and Al Hudud. All the ships entered service between 1977 and 1979. All the remaining ships were scrapped in 1993.
- ^ "Iraq's Would-Be Navy Stuck in Italian Riviera". Associated Press. 12 October 1990. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
- ^ According to Christopher Chant ("Small Craft Navies", ISBN 1-85409-046-1) all six ships of this class were commissioned already 1988. (September 2018)
- ^ Iraqi Navy to Receive Saddam-Era Corvettes from Italian Firm | Sea Power | Find Articles at BNET