Moudge
Builders
Class beforeAlvand-class frigate
Built range2001–present
In service range2010–present
Total ships building1
Total ships planned7
Total ships completed6
Total ships active0?
Total ships lost6 (1 unconfirmed)
Moudge-class frigate
Frigate
Displacement1,500 tonnes[1]
Length95 m (311 ft 8 in)[1]
Beam11.1 m (36 ft 5 in)[1]
Draught3.25 m (10 ft 8 in)[1]
Propulsion
  • 2 × 10,000 hp (7,500 kW) engines
  • 4 × 740 hp (550 kW) diesel generators
Speed30 knots (55.6 km/h)
Complement140
SensorsAsr 3D PESA long-range radar
Ew
  • 2 × 8 tube chaff launcher
Armament
  • Naval guns
  • Surface to air missiles
  • Anti-ship missiles
    • 4 × Noor or Qader anti-ship missiles (Some ships are equipped with 8 anti-ship missiles)
  • Anti-submarine warfare
    • 2 × triple 324 mm torpedoes
Aircraft1 × Bell 214 ASW helicopter
Aircraft facilitiesHelicopter landing pad

The Moudge or Mouj or Mowj (Persian: موج, lit. 'wave') is a class of domestically-produced Iranian light frigates. The class appeared to be a development of the Alvand-class frigate.

Classification

Iran officially classifies these ships as destroyers, but this is rejected by most navies internationally.[2]

Sources differ in specifying the type of the class, either as light frigate or corvette.[3] Alternatively, they have also been described as destroyer escorts.[4] For instance, Jane's Fighting Ships classifies the class as FFG or frigate[5] while the Military Balance of the International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS), designates the ships in the class as FSGM or corvette.[6]

History

A Moudge-class ship was first reported to be under construction in 2001.[7] 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).[8]

The first ship, Jamaran was stationed in the port of Bandar Abbas. Damavand is the second ship in this class.[9] Damavand was constructed at the Shahid Tamjidi Marine Industries (STMI) fabrication shop on the Caspian Sea at Bandar-e Anzali.[10] The frigate was launched in March 2013.[citation needed]

In January 2018, Damavand, based out of Bandar-Anzali on the Caspian Sea, ran aground on a concrete breakwater in the vicinity of its home port. It was reportedly caused by navigational error, compounded by a strong storm that created high waves and low visibility. 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. Photos from 2018 show that the ship's hull broke apart near the waterline approximately at the start of the ship's aircraft deck.[11]

The Iranian Navy commissioned Dena in Bandar Abbas in June 2021.[12]

Future units of the Moudge class are to be equipped with the Sayyad-2 anti-aircraft missiles.[13]

During construction, the frigate Talaiyeh capsized while in dry dock. One member of the Iranian Navy was killed in the incident. No official reports have been released by the Iranian authorities.

While in port at Bandar Abbas Sahand capsized on 7 July 2024 before sinking on 9 July 2024.[14]

Ships in the class

ImageShipPennant
number		ShipyardLaid downLaunchedCommissionedStatus
IRIS Jamaran76Naval Factories, Bandar Abbas2001[7] or 2004[5]28 November 2007[15]19 February 2010[5]Sunk by U.S. airstrike on 28 February 2026, during the 2026 Iran war.[16]
IRIS Damavand77Shahid Tamjidi, Bandar Anzali2009[5]28 November 2007[8]9 March 2015[17]Sunk during storm in the Caspian Sea on 28 January 2018 and scrapped. A replacement vessel Deylaman was constructed.
IRIS Sahand (named after the earlier Sahand)74Naval Factories, Bandar Abbas2010[5]18 September 2012[18]1 December 2018[19]Sunk on 9 July 2024. On 29 November 2025, IRIS Sahand was recommissioned after reconstruction and repair. She was destroyed in the 2026 Iran war.[20]
IRIS Dena75Shahid Darvishi, Bandar Abbas2012[5]2015[5]13 June 2021[12]Sunk by a US submarine off the coast of Sri Lanka on 4 March 2026, during the 2026 Iran war.[21]
IRIS Deylaman78Shahid Tamjidi, Bandar Anzali201727 November 2023[22]The replacement vessel of the sunk Damavand.[23] Sunk during strikes by the Israeli Air Force in the Caspian Sea on 18 March 2026.[24][25]
IRIS Zagros (ex-Talaieh)313Naval Factories, Bandar Abbas2013[5]2016[5]15 January 2025[26]Converted to a SIGINT ship after significant damage in an accident during construction. Suspected to have been sunk in March 2026. [27]
IRIS TaftanTBAShahid Darvishi, Bandar Abbas2014[5]2017[5]Under construction.[28]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Jamaran frigate". Defense Industries Organization. Archived from the original on 17 July 2007.
  2. ^ "Iran adds a sophisticated warship to its Caspian Sea fleet". Associated Press News. 27 November 2023.
  3. ^ Cordesman, Anthony (2016), "The Gulf: How Dangerous is Iran to International Maritime Security?", Routledge Handbook of Naval Strategy and Security, Krause, Joachim & Bruns, Sebastian (eds.), Routledge, p. 107, ISBN 9781138840935
  4. ^ "IRIN Jamaran (76) Guided Missile Frigate / Destroyer Escort"
  5. ^ "Iran", IHS Jane's Fighting Ships 2015–2016, Jane's Fighting Ships, 116th Revised ed., Coulsdon: IHS Jane's, 2015, p. 385, ISBN 9780710631435. OCLC 919022075
  6. ^ The International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS) (2020). "Middle East and North Africa". The Military Balance 2020. Vol. 120, no. 1. Routledge. p. 350. doi:10.1080/04597222.2020.1707968. ISBN 9780367466398. S2CID 219624897
  7. ^ Silverstone, Paul H. (2001), "Naval Intelligence", Warship International. 38 (4): 346, International Naval Research Organization, JSTOR 44895663
  8. ^ Silverstone, Paul H. (2008), "Naval Intelligence", Warship International. 45 (1): 13–14, International Naval Research Organization, JSTOR 44895054
  9. ^ "Destroyer production line inaugurated in Iran (Wave II)". Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA). 23 February 2007. Archived from the original on 7 February 2012.
  10. ^ "The Second Moje Class Frigate at Shahid Tamjidi Marine Industries". OSGEOINT. 26 January 2012.
  11. ^ "Destroyer of the Navy of Iran Flew into a Breakwater in the Caspian Sea | Maritime Herald". Archived 31 January 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  12. ^ Archus, Dorian (15 June 2021). "Iran commissions indigenous destroyer "Dena" and minehunter "Shahin" – Naval Post". Retrieved 15 June 2021.
  13. ^ "Iran Mulling Change in Sayyad Missiles to Mount It on Mowj-Class Vessels". Fars News Agency. 27 January 2014. Archived 30 June 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
  14. ^ "Iranian warship Sahand entirely sinks despite rebalancing efforts". Deccan Herald. Reuters. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  15. ^ Silverstone, Paul H. (2007), "Naval Intelligence", Warship International. 44 (3): 227, International Naval Research Organization, JSTOR 44895166
  16. ^ "US says it sinks Iranian warship". Reuters. 1 March 2026. Retrieved 2 March 2026.
  17. ^ Silverstone, Paul H. (September 2015), "Naval Intelligence", Warship International. 52 (3): 188, International Naval Research Organization, JSTOR 44894486
  18. ^ Silverstone, Paul H. (March 2013), "Naval Intelligence", Warship International. 50 (1): 14, International Naval Research Organization, JSTOR 44893820
  19. ^ Heavens, Louise (ed.) (1 December 2018), "Iran navy launches stealth warship in the Gulf", Reuters
  20. ^ Rothwell, James & Ibbetson, Connor James (3 March 2026). "In 48 hours, Trump sent Iran's navy to the bottom of the sea". The Daily Telegraph. The Telegraph. Retrieved 4 March 2026.
  21. ^ "Sri Lanka sends jets after distress call from Iranian Navy ship Iris Dena". Hindustan Times. 4 March 2026. Retrieved 4 March 2026.
  22. ^ "Iran's New Destroyer Goes in Service in Caspian Sea". Tasnim News Agency. 27 November 2023. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  23. ^ "ناو جدید "دماوند" به‌زودی به نیروی دریایی ارتش الحاق می‌شود- اخبار نظامی | دفاعی | امنیتی – اخبار سیاسی تسنیم | Tasnim" (in Persian). خبرگزاری تسنیم | Tasnim. Retrieved 2 July 2023.[dead link]
  24. ^ "Israeli military says it 'took out' Iran’s Caspian Sea naval capabilities". Reuters. 21 March 2026.
  25. ^ "Israel Protects Azerbaijan With Strike on Iran's Caspian Fleet". The Maritime Executive. Retrieved 2026-03-22.
  26. ^ "Iran's navy unveils its first signals intelligence ship". Reuters. 15 January 2025. Retrieved 2 March 2026.
  27. ^ "In 48 hours, Trump sent Iran's navy to the bottom of the sea". Telegraph. 3 March 2026.
  28. ^ "Iranian navy building 3 new destroyers: Sayyari", Mehr News Agency, 27 September 2019, 150535, retrieved 15 July 2020