These ships are known for their unique catamaran (twin hull) design with sharp angles to give it a more stealthy design. The design has been compared to the Chinese Type 22 missile boat and the Taiwanese . According to Iranian officials, these warship's have hulls that are made of aluminum instead of the regular steel which decreases their weight. The use of aluminum is an innovation in the Iranian shipbuilding industry, adopted in past few years.[1]
These warships are equipped with six anti-ship cruise missiles including four long-range ones (likely Noor or Ghadir) and two short-range anti-ship missiles (likely Nasir) in an order of two long-range and one short-range box launchers on each side behind the superstructure. These warships are the first Iranian warship to be equipped with a vertical launching system (VLS). The VLS armament component includes six bigger cells for surface-to-surface cruise missiles and 16 smaller ones for surface-to-air missiles, all of which are located behind the command bridge.
The lead warship, Shahid Soleimani, is equipped with four 23 mm gatling guns (likely Asef), one 30 mm auto-canon and two chaff dispensers. These are also incorporated in other warships of the class. [2] According to Commodore Alireza Tangsiri, Shahid Soleimani-class vessels have been equipped with different types of missiles with varied ranges of 200, 300 and 750 kilometers respectively, as well as with a new 2,000-kilometer-range cruise missile named Ghadr-474, to boost their firepower. Tangsiri later said that Sayyad Shirazi and Hassan Baqeri, the other two warships of the class currently in service have been equipped with 16 Navvab vertically-launched missiles and 6 Sayyad-3 missiles.[3]
Intelligence and reconnaissance monitoring, surface and subsurface and air traffic monitoring are among the duties of these vessels and are equipped with Iran's most advanced electronic warfare systems.
The Shahid Soleimani class of warship are all powered by four indigenously developed diesel engines which gives a top speed of 32kn and a range of 5000nmi.
The warship also have aviation facilities, a helipad, and a crane under it which is used to launch and retrieve fast attack boats. The ships can carry three fast attack boats and have the ability to retrieve and rearm them.
After the end of construction at the Shahid Mahallati Shipyard on 14 June 2022, the lead ship, underwent rigorous sea trials. During sea trials the lead ship was equipped with four 12.7 mm machine guns which were later replaced with four 20 mm gatling guns. On 5 September 2022, Shahid Soleimani was commissioned into IRGC's navy branch in a commissioning ceremony.
| Ship | Commissioned | Home Port | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FS313-01 | 2022 | Bandar Abbas | ||
| FS313-02 | 2024 | Bushehr | ||
| FS313-03 | 2024 | Bandar Abbas | ||
| FS313-04 | Under construction | TBA |