A ceremony was conducted at the Bender-Enzeli naval base situated along the Iranian coast in the Caspian Sea on November 27, 2023. The occasion formally introduced the Jamaran type FFGH 78 Deylaman light frigate into the Iranian Caspian Sea naval forces. Under the auspices of the Iranian Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces Support, the Shahid Tamjidi Marine Industries (STMI) shipyard, which is affiliated with the Marine Industries Organisation (MIO), built the frigate as part of the Mowj (Wave) programme. In the Caspian Sea, the Deylaman is now the largest combat vessel of the Iranian Navy.
A vertical takeoff and landing reconnaissance drone, designated Chamrosh-4, along with launchers for newly developed Shahin-1 barrage munitions, were also showcased during the commissioning ceremony of the frigate.
Jamaran Type Frigates
As part of the national Mowj (or Moudge) programme, Iran is building frigates of the Jamaran type, essentially simplified and modified replicas of the small frigates developed in the 1960s for the British export project Vosper Mk 5. Four Saam-type (Alvand) units of this project, constructed in the United Kingdom following a contract for the Iranian Navy in 1965, were commissioned in the early 1970s. At present, the Iranian Navy’s surface forces are comprised of three Vosper Mk 5 frigates, with the remaining vessel, Sahand, having been scuttled by the Americans in 1988. The Mowj (Moudge) programme was launched in 1997 to develop an Iranian equivalent to these vessels. Construction of the lead Iranian frigate FFGH 76 Jamaran commenced at the Iranian Navy’s Nadaja shipyard in Bender-Abbas, situated along the Persian Gulf coast, around 2001. Jamaran entered the Persian Gulf on February 19, 2010, having been duly commissioned by the Iranian Navy on November 28, 2007.
Construction of the second frigate, FFGH 77 Velayat, commenced at the STMI facility in Bender-Enzeli, located on the Caspian Sea, on February 23, 2007. It was commissioned on March 9, 2015, after being launched on March 17, 2013, subsequently renamed Damavand, and thus became the largest Iranian combat unit in the Caspian. Nevertheless, the frigate FFGH 77 Damavand encountered a storm at the entrance to Bender-Enzeli on January 10, 2018, resulting in its destruction by the end of January 2018.
Another frigate of the same design was built at the STMI facility in Bender-Enzeli to replace the lost Damavand. Having been initially assigned the hull number and name of the defunct vessel, the FFGH 77 Damavand, it underwent a subsequent name change to FFGH 78 Deylaman before being commissioned. Like other Iranian frigates, the name Deylaman is bestowed in reverence for mountain ranges, more precisely, the Daylam (or Daylaman or Dailam or Deylam or Deilam) mountainous region in the southern Caspian.
Two additional Mowj-program frigates have been commissioned into service with the Iranian Navy in the Persian Gulf. FFGH 74 Sahand was commissioned on November 28, 2018, after being built at the Iranian Navy Nadaja shipyard in Bender-Abbas. It was given the designation and hull number of a frigate lost in 1988. The Iran Shipbuilding & Offshore Industries Complex Co. (ISOICO) built the FFGH 75 Dena in Bandar-Shahid-Rejaye, close to Bender-Abbas. The vessel was commissioned and launched on June 13, 2021. Each of the Mowj programme ships bears unique characteristics.
Presently, two additional frigates of this type are being built in Iranian shipyards along the Persian Gulf coastline; these endeavours are becoming protracted. Launched in 2016 at the Iranian Navy Nadaja shipyard in Bender-Abbas, the Talaieh frigate has yet to be commissioned. This vessel, which was undergoing restoration and overturned in dry dock on December 5, 2021, is now known as Shiraz or Zagros. Furthermore, construction of the frigate Taftan has been ongoing at the ISOICO facility – Bostanu Shipyard – in Bandar-Shahid-Rejaye since 2017. Under construction at ISOICO, the Dena and Taftan frigates hulls were built at the Shahid Mousavi Industries shipyard, an MIO subsidiary in Horremshahr. Information regarding constructing an eighth ship in Iran is available in the open.
The Mowj programme frigates are 95 metres long and 11.1 metres in width, and they have a maximum displacement of over 1,500 tonnes. A portion of the FFGH 78 Deylaman frigate’s weaponry has yet to be mounted.
The anticipated armament of the vessel comprises the following:
- Eight Qader or Hoveyzeh anti-ship missiles.
- Four Sayyad-3 medium to long-range anti-aircraft missiles. The Syaad-2-based Mehrab system has not yet been installed.
- A vertical launching system for medium to long-range anti-aircraft missiles. Possibly, the Nawab System is not yet installed.
- Two 23mm single-barrel artillery systems.
- A 76mm Fajr 27 artillery system (a replication of the Leonardo/Oto Melara Compact system).
The vessel is outfitted with a helipad that can accommodate a medium-sized helicopter. It is unknown whether the Iranian-developed multifunctional Cheshm Oghab radar complex, which is mounted on an integrated mast, has been deployed.