Project 12418 Molniya of the Vietnam Navy is considered one of the most dangerous fast attack craft in Asia.
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| In recent years, while European countries (except Russia) have rarely developed Fast Attack Craft (FAC), in Asia this type of small warship is being strongly developed with a variety of designs and weapons. The FAC "blooms" in Asia partly because of its low price, ease of production in large quantities while its effectiveness in combating surface ships is extremely strong. That has made the small navies of Asian countries and even the powerful navies of India and China focus on FAC ships. Photo source: Nation States Forums |
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| There are currently dozens of types of fast attack craft in Asia, but in general, the ships all have the same characteristics: displacement under 700 tons; high speed; equipped with many anti-ship missiles; weak anti-aircraft firepower. These ships tend to use “asymmetric” tactics – attacking in a “wolf pack” style and then retreating quickly. With this way of fighting, a small naval force can completely cause great damage to naval powers at sea. |
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| Although the navy already has destroyers and aircraft carriers, India is still focusing on the FAC fast attack craft fleet with 15-20 ships. The most prominent of these is the Veer class - a version of the Soviet Project 1241 Tarantul frigate built by India under license. Up to 10 are in service with the Indian Navy. Photo source: INS Pralaya |
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| The Veer class has a displacement of 455 tons, a length of 56 meters, and a maximum speed of 32 knots. The main weapons include 4 P-15 Termit cruise missiles or 16 Uran-E cruise missiles or 4 P-270 Moskit supersonic cruise missiles. Just one shot from these missiles can immediately disable a 4,000-5,000-ton warship. In addition, the ship also has a 76.2 meter naval gun and an AK-630. Photo source: Bharat Rakshar |
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| Vietnam's Molniya Project 12418 missile boats also share the same origin as the Veer class boats. Vietnam bought two 12418 boats from Russia and then successfully bought a license to build six domestically. This is considered one of Vietnam's best warships today, equipped with strong firepower, high mobility, suitable for asymmetric warfare. |
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| Molniya missile boat has a displacement of 540 tons, length of 56m, maximum speed of 32 nautical miles/h, equipped with 16 Uran-E anti-ship cruise missiles with a range of up to 130km, one shot can destroy a 5,000-ton ship. In addition, the ship also has AK-176M and AK-630 naval guns, 12 9K38 Igla anti-aircraft missiles in case of increased protection against attack aircraft, cruise missiles and drones. |
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| The Pakistan Navy, which is always wary of India, has chosen China as its partner in building fast attack craft. The country has now equipped itself with three FAC PNS Azmat vessels built by the China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC). Photo source: Asian Defence News |
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| This ship has a displacement of 560 tons, is 62m long, and has a maximum speed of 30 nautical miles/hour. Its firepower includes 8 C-802 anti-ship missiles with a range of 120km, along with AK-630 guns and 23mm automatic guns. Photo source: Jane's |
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| While some countries choose to buy and manufacture under license, many Asian countries have the potential to research and manufacture on their own. Standing out among the generations of FAC fast attack craft designed in Asia is the Gumdoksuri class, also known as Chamsuri-211 of South Korea. Construction began in 2008, and to date, 18 of these ships have been commissioned by South Korea. They were built with the purpose of dealing with North Korean fast attack craft after a Chamsuri-class ship was sunk in 2002. Photo source: Wikipedia |
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| The Gumdoksuri class has a displacement of 570 tons, a length of 63m, and a maximum speed of 44 knots. In terms of firepower, the ship is equipped with 4 SSM-700K Hae Sung anti-ship missiles with a range of 140km, a 76mm naval gun or a 40mm anti-aircraft gun. The ship's armored hull can withstand AK-47 bullets fired at a distance of 10m. Photo source: Wikipedia |
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| Taiwan - under great pressure from the Chinese mainland Navy, is also trying to speed up the construction of the Tuo Chiang stealth fast attack craft produced by the Lung TEH factory at a price of 72.39 million USD/ship. This price can be said to be the most expensive among the current FAC ships, however, "expensive but worth it", the Tuo Chiang ships possess superior firepower to FAC ships in Asia, including China's Type 022. Photo source: NavWeaps |
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| Although Indonesia has an average shipbuilding industry in Asia, they have also made great efforts to design and manufacture a series of KCR-40 fast attack missile boats with a quantity of 16 (8 have been completed). This type of boat has a displacement of 250 tons, a length of 44m, a speed of 30 knots. Firepower includes 2 C-705 anti-ship missiles and a 30mm NG-18 gun. Photo source: Defense Studies |
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| However, this type of ship is having major problems with the Chinese-made C-705 anti-ship missiles. Accordingly, in a recent test, the C-705 missiles did not receive the command to fire, then a few minutes later the missiles suddenly left the launch pad while the officers of the launch ship were extremely confused. Photo source: Defense Studies |
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| Although China possesses a very strong fleet of destroyers and escorts over 2,000 tons, they also focus on building a large fleet of up to 83 Type 022 fast attack craft, each costing about 14.3-50 million USD. Type 022 is said to be one of the "cards" used to destroy the US aircraft carrier strike group. Photo source: Reddit |
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| Type 022 has a displacement of 220 tons, length of 42m, maximum speed of 36 knots, equipped with 8 C-802 or C-803 anti-ship cruise missiles and a 30mm anti-aircraft gun. Photo source: kajianhankamindonesia |
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