Assad-class corvette

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]

Al Tadjier underway in 1983
Class overview
Name	Assad class
Operators	Iraqi Navy  Libyan Navy  Royal Malaysian Navy
Subclasses	Laksamana class
Built	1981-1988
In commission	1995-present
Planned	10
Completed	10
Active	6
Lost	1
Retired	3
General characteristics
Type	Corvette
Displacement	600 tons standard 675 tons full load
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	1- Otobreda 76 mm 2 - 40 mm Breda Dardo guns 2 - 35mm Oerlikon cannon (Libya) in a single powered twin turret 1 Surface-to-air-missile - Albatros Selenia Aspide (1 × 4) 6 Otomat anti-ship missiles 6 - ASW torpedo tubes

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.

Otomat missile launch from an Al Assad class ship

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.