After the capture by the Americans of the main naval base (naval base) of Iraq, Umm Qasr in March 2003, 6 boats of the Savari-7 type were found there, converted into minelayers. 4 of them afloat and 2 flooded, but soon brought to the surface and used by the US Navy for sweeping the fairways of the base.
Cleaning of the water area of Umm Qasr by the American military using a boat of the Iraqi Sawari-type project, built in Basra
The Americans, who began the construction of a new Iraqi army, paid attention primarily to the ground forces, which could be thrown against the partisan movement unfolding in the country. However, in January 2004, the creation of an Iraqi coastal defense force was announced, with an initial number of 214 volunteers, who began patrolling on October 1 of that year. By the time the Iraqi Navy was officially re-established in January 2005, the country had only 5 Nasir-class patrol boats (Predator 81 project) built in Taiwan. Despite the fact that they were relatively new (all were built in 2000-2002) and had a modern look, they were kept in the open air in the UAE for almost 2 years and during this time they largely fell into disrepair. That is why, already in February 2004, the first two boats, RS-102 and RS-103, were delivered to the dry dock in Jebel Ali for repairs. After repairing the boats on April 30, 2004, they made the transition from Manama (Bahrain) to the Iraqi port of Umm Qasr, thus becoming the first combat boats of the revived Iraqi Navy. By January 2005, the remaining 3 boats arrived in Iraq: w / n RS-101, RS-104 and RS-105, the volume of repair work on which was somewhat less.
The first combat unit of the revived Iraqi Navy - the P-102 patrol boat of the "Nasir" type
At the same time, on the territory of Iraq itself, at the shipyard in Basra, the forces of American and Iraqi specialists brought 2 patrol boats of the Iraqi project of the Al Uboor type to a limited operational state. After entering the combat structure of the Iraqi Navy, they went to sea from time to time. They were used mainly as training and support boats, and already in 2010 they were enrolled in the reserve.
7 patrol boats turned out to be extremely small even for the small Iraqi Navy. Moreover, they did not quite meet modern requirements. In particular, boarding parties (due to small rooms and a small upper deck) and inflatable motor boats were poorly accommodated on large boats. Moreover, it turned out that the shipbuilding facilities in Basra remained operational. Therefore, on the basis of the Al-Ubur project, it was decided to build a new, more advanced patrol boat, the project of which was named Al-Fao. On 17 February 2005, a contract was signed to build six new Iraqi patrol boats to support the local economy. The first boat of the RS-201 or Al-Faw-1 project was commissioned into the Iraqi Navy six months after the start of construction, and the last series - RS-206 or Al-Faw-6 - on July 17, 2006, that is, after 18 months from the moment of signing the contract.
Patrol boat of the Iraqi Navy RS-201 Al-Faw-1
In 2005-2008, the United States transferred 10 light speed boats to the new Iraqi Navy (in fact, motor boats with a rigid hull and outboard gasoline engines).
After the withdrawal of American troops on November 11, 2008, the creation of the new Iraqi Navy was officially announced.
Currently, the Iraqi Navy has about 1,500 people and includes:
- 4 Italian-built Saettia MK4 patrol ships (tail numbers: PS 701, PS 702, PS 703, PS 704). Displacement: 340/427 tons WPC (Coast Guard). Length - 52, 85 m, width - 8.1 m. Power plant - 4-shaft, 4 diesel Isotta-Fraschini V1716 T2MSD, 12 660 hp. Speed - 32 knots. Crew - 78 people. Armament: 1 25 mm OTO Melara KBA gun.
- 2 American-built OSV 401 patrol ships (Al Basrah OSV 401 and Al Fayhaa OSV 402). Transferred in December 2012. The ships have a steel hull structure with an aluminum superstructure. The total displacement of the ship is 1400 tons, the length is 60 meters, the width is 11.2 meters, the deepening in full load is 3.8 meters. The power plant includes two Caterpillar 3516C diesel engines with 3150 hp each. with water jet propellers. Maximum speed 16 knots, cruising range up to 4000 miles at 10 knots. The crew is 42 people. Armament includes one MSI-Defense Systems Seahawk A2 30mm remotely controlled automatic artillery mount, as well as four 12.7mm and six 7.62mm machine guns. The ship is equipped with three fast-launching semi-rigid 9-meter motor boats, and can be used to transport cargo containers or larger boats.
The new ships were to become the largest combat units of the Iraqi Navy, designed to patrol coastal waters in the northern part of the Persian Gulf and used as floating bases and supply vessels for offshore oil platforms. The ships have a steel hull structure with an aluminum superstructure. On December 20, 2012, during a ceremony at the main Iraqi naval base Umm Qasr, these ships are officially handed over to the Naval Forces of the Iraqi Republic. In fact, the introduction of the Al Basra-type multipurpose patrol ships into the Iraqi Navy is completing the formation of the country's new Navy, which took a total of 8 years and about $ 1 billion.
- 12 patrol boats Swiftships Model 35PB1208 E-1455 (b / n P-301-315). Length: 35, 06 m, width 7, 25 m, draft 2, 59 m. DN: 3 diesel engines MTU 16V2000 Marine Diesels. Max. speed: 56 km / h; 35 knots. Cruising range up to 1500 nautical miles (2 800 km). Autonomy: 6 days. Crew: 25 people. The ship is equipped with the Willard Rigid Inflatable Boat, a fast descending semi-rigid 7-meter motor boat. Armament: 1x30 mm AU DS30M Mark 2, 1 12.7 mm machine gun, 2x7, 62 mm machine gun. The boats, with an all-aluminum welded hull and full autonomy of up to 6 days, are designed to perform various tasks, including patrolling the coastal water area, the country's exclusive economic zone at a distance of up to 200 miles from the Iraqi coast, surveillance and reconnaissance, search and rescue operations, inspection ships, ensuring the safety of oil platforms and terminals.
- 7 patrol boats of the RS-201 or Al-Faw-1 project of Iraqi construction, commissioned in 2005-2006.
- 5 Predator patrol boats (w / n P-101-105), 27 m long.
- 24 PBR-American river patrol boats during the Vietnam War. Armament: 1 40-mm AGS Mk 19; 1 coaxial 12.7 mm Browning M2HB, 2 7.62 mm M-60 machine guns.
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- 10 rigid hull inflatable boats.
On May 15, 2014, the Iraqi government officially announced the conclusion by the Italian shipbuilding association Fincantieri of the final agreement on the transfer of two Assad-class corvettes to the Iraqi Navy, built in Italy for the government of Saddam Hussein and defended in Italy for almost 30 years.
In 2010, a floating dock was finally towed to Iraq from Alexandria, now used for civilian purposes. In 2011, the aforementioned agreement was concluded on the repair, modernization and return of two corvettes of the Assad Musa Bin Nusayr and Tariq Bin Ziad type and the tanker Agnadeen, which were officially transferred to the Iraqi Navy back in 1986. However, according to recent reports, the now finalized contract with Fincantieri is being extended only for 28 years, two corvettes from La Spezia have been laid up, and the tanker in Alexandria, most likely, will not be repaired and will be scrapped.
The corvettes F 210 Musa Bin Nusayr and F 212 Tariq Bin Ziad, which were defended in La Spezia (Italy), built for Iraq under a 1980 contract
Details of the planned modernization of the two corvettes (full displacement 680 tons, length 62 m) have not been disclosed, however, as reported, their 76-mm Oto Melara Compact artillery mounts will be replaced with more modern Super Rapids. Apparently, the ships will also receive a new anti-ship missile system. When commissioned, both of these ships will become the most powerful units of the new Iraqi Navy.
The military-political leadership of Iraq is probing the ground for construction no later than 2015.a series of the latest missile boats, the acquisition of mobile-type coastal missile systems, naval aviation and a dramatic expansion of the combat capabilities of the country's marines. Today, a preliminary consent to the construction of a division of missile boats (5 units) for the Iraqi Navy has already been expressed by the relevant structures of Italy, Germany, France and China. In the future (until 2020), the possibility of the Iraqi government purchasing missile ships (corvettes) with a large strike potential and range (2-4 units) for the country's Navy is not excluded. Moreover, in all cases, the choice of the type of anti-ship missile has been made - this is the French Exocet, which has proven itself in the “Saddam” Iraqi Navy. True, now this is its newest modification - MM-40 blok 3.
Another type of warships, the acquisition of which for the Iraqi Navy began to be actively considered, starting in 2011, are the ships of the mine-sweeping forces. Where and in what quantity it was planned to build minesweepers was not reported.
For the naval aviation, which the Republic of Iraq still intends to create, by 2015 it is planned to acquire a squadron of search and rescue helicopters (at least 8 units), as well as at least 1 base patrol aircraft or observation aircraft of the type available in the coast guard of leading states the world (the option of re-equipment for sea functions is not excluded and 1-2 military transport aircraft An-32B delivered to Iraq in 2012 by Ukraine). Most likely, these aircraft will be equipped with strike missile weapons.
Taking into account the experience accumulated by the modern Iraqi Navy, in the near future it is planned to significantly expand the capabilities of the marines. In particular, the issue of creating two or even three brigades of the Marine Corps is being considered. At the same time, one of the brigades will be responsible for the safety of offshore drilling platforms and oil export terminals, and its individual units will act as boarding parties on patrol ships and boats of the Iraqi Navy. The second brigade will protect the ports and naval bases of the country, as well as perform the functions of coastal defense. The same tasks may be assigned to the third brigade.
The scenario of the creation of three brigades of the Iraqi marines is not excluded. Under this option, two brigades will be directly subordinate to the country's naval command with the task of defending the coast. So, in the event of a military threat, they will be used as a strike component in the coastal direction or in a swampy area (for example, in the Shatt al-Arab delta or in the Majnoon swamps area. The third brigade will be part of the special operations forces country (as was the case in the 1980s, when a similar unit was part of the Iraqi Republican Guard) and will only be operatively subordinate to the command of the Iraqi naval forces.
Well, in the end, a little about the fate of the ships built in the USSR for the Iraqi Navy for the Iraqi Navy.
The RCA of project 1241RE under construction, but not transferred to Iraq, were transferred to Romania, where they received the names: Zboryl (b / n 188) - transferred in December 1990, Pescarusul (b / n 189) - in December 1991, Lastunul (b / n n 190) - in December 1991
Romanian missile boat (in Romanian terminology "missile ship") pr. 1241RE Pescarusul
Small anti-submarine ships of project 12412PE: MPK-291 - 08.24.1996 transferred to the Novorossiysk OBSKR, reclassified as a border patrol ship, received the name "Novorossiysk" and on 1997-12-05, after reactivation, was included in the combat composition of the Department of Naval Forces of the FPS; MPK-292 - on 08.24.1996 transferred to the Novorossiysk OBSKR, reclassified to the PSKR, received the name "Kuban" and on 9.4.1998, after reactivation, it was included in the combat composition of the Department of Naval Forces of the Federal Border Guard Service; MPK-293 - removed from construction, on 1.4.1992, disbanded and soon cut into metal on the stocks.
PSKR project 12412PE "Kuban"
