The Ramadan-class missile boat are a series of six missile boats that have been in service with the Egyptian Navy since 1981, which were constructed in the United Kingdom. The first ship was launched in 1979 and entered service in 1981. Four remain in service with two laid up.
Design and description Based on a British design, the Ramadan class measures long overall and between perpendiculars with a beam of and a draught of . The missile boats have a standard displacement of and a full load displacement of . The vessels are powered by four MTU 20V538 TB 91 diesel engines turning four propeller shafts creating and a maximum speed of . The ships have storage for of oil fuel giving them a range of at .
The Ramadan-class missile craft are armed with two twin launchers for Otomat surface-to-surface missiles (SSMs). They also mount one OTO Melara gun forward and a pair of twin-mounted Breda anti-aircraft guns. In 1981 they were equipped with a Marconi S810 air and surface search radar and two ST802 fire control radars. The two ST802 radars work in tandem with the Marconi Sapphire fire control system (also known as Sea Archer 1A) alongside two Lawrence Scott optical directors. The ships were later updated with a Decca-Racal Cygnus jammer, two MEL Protean chaff dispensers and Cutlass intercept radar. They have a complement of 40.
Ships in class Construction data Number Name Builder Laid down Launched Commissioned Status 561, 670 Ramadan Vosper Thornycroft, Portchester, United Kingdom 22 September 1978 6 September 1979 20 July 1981 Laid up 562, 674 El Kadesseya 23 February 1979 31 January 1980 15 September 1981 Laid up 563, 672 Khyber 23 April 1979 19 February 1980 6 April 1982 Active 564, 676 El Yarmouk 15 May 1979 12 June 1980 18 May 1982 Active 565, 678 Badr 29 September 1979 17 June 1981 17 June 1982 Active 566, 680 Hettein 29 February 1980 25 November 1980 28 October 1982 Active
Construction and career The six ships were ordered on 4 September 1977 from Vosper Thornycroft of the United Kingdom. After construction the first pair sailed together for Egypt and arrived on 13 November 1981. The second pair arrived on 23 July 1982 and the third pair in December 1982. In 1998, two of the class had their radars upgraded, followed by the remaining four beginning in 2001. In March 2000, all six vessels had their communications systems upgraded. Beginning in 2007, their CAAIS data system was upgraded to the Nautis-3 command-and-control data system along with an upgrade from the Mk1 Otomats to the Mk2 version. El Kadesseya was taken out of service in 2000, followed by Ramadan in 2005.
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External links The class at Hazegray.org Picture on Flickr.com