Profile
- Origin
- Iran
- Type
- Fast patrol boat / fast inshore attack craft
- Service note
- 1980s-present
- Produced
- 1980s-present
The Ashura-class speedboat is a small Iranian fast patrol and fast inshore attack craft family associated with the IRGC Navy's asymmetric small-boat force. Public sources describe the original Ashura/Ashoora boat as a compact glass-reinforced-plastic craft with gun, rocket, troop-carrying, and mine-capable configurations, while later Iranian reporting also applies the Ashura-class label to improved missile-capable boats.
The public record treats Ashura/Ashoora less as a single standardized combatant and more as a small-boat family inside Iran's asymmetric naval posture. The sources support compact hulls, light weapons, mine rails, and later missile-capable delivery claims, but they do not directly identify an Ashura-class boat in a specific cataloged conflict.
DIA and ONI describe Iranian naval small craft as part of an IRGC Navy approach built around speed, numbers, mines, missiles, and harassment in constrained waters.
The boat is kept as a relationship-only support record because checked sources did not tie Ashura/Ashoora directly to a specific catalog conflict row.
Sources: Iran Military Power; Iran's Naval Forces; Iran's Asymmetric Naval Warfare.
Open sources use Ashura, Ashoora, and Ashoura for the original small MIG-G-0800 boat, while later Iranian reporting also applies Ashura-class to improved missile-capable boats. Ashura-33 / FB RIB-33 appears in database sources as a related larger designation rather than a proven match for the original Ashura I.
| Variant | Configuration | Designation notes |
|---|---|---|
| Ashura I / MIG-G-0800 | Original small monohull speedboat | Wikimedia Commons and CMANO identify the compact Ashura I / MIG-G-0800 as a glass-reinforced-plastic, Boston Whaler-type Iranian boat. Sources: Ashura monohull Commons category, MIG-G-0800 Ashura database entry |
| Gun, rocket, and mine configurations | Field configurations | Washington Institute, CSIS, and DIA sources describe Ashura/Ashoora boats with heavy machine guns, multiple rocket launchers, and mine-carrying or mine-laying arrangements. Sources: Iran's Asymmetric Naval Warfare, The Iranian Sea-Air-Missile Threat to Gulf Shipping, Iran Military Power |
| Improved Ashura-class boats | Later missile-capable delivery batches | Radio Farda reported improved Ashura boats among the 2020 IRGC Navy delivery, and Tasnim-linked reporting later described 110 Ashura-class missile-launching speedboats entering IRGC Navy service. Sources: More Than 100 Gunboats Delivered To Revolutionary Guard's Navy, Iran: 110 Combat Speedboats Delivered To IRGC Navy |
| Ashura-33 / FB RIB-33 | Related larger designation | CMANO lists MIG-G-0800 Ashura 33 / FB RIB-33 separately with larger dimensions and 107 mm rocket armament, so this page treats it as an adjacent designation rather than a confirmed duplicate of Ashura I. Sources: MIG-G-0800 Ashura 33 database entry |
The clearest sourced loadout relationship is the Ashoora mine-rail fit described in U.S. defense reporting.
| Carried item | Item type | Carriage evidence |
|---|---|---|
![]() | Naval mine family | DIA says many Ashoora small boats were fitted with mine rails capable of holding at least one mine. Sources: Iran Military Power |
Iranian reporting says later Ashura-class boats entered service with Kowsar missiles.
| Carried item | Item type | Carriage evidence |
|---|---|---|
![]() | Anti-ship cruise missile family | Tasnim and Mehr reported Ashura-class boats armed with Kowsar missiles during the January 2024 IRGC Navy delivery ceremony. Sources: Tasnim IRGC Navy speedboats report, Mehr IRGC Navy speedboats report |
Washington Institute reporting says small Iranian Ashura-class mine-laying boats often escaped detection during late Tanker War-era Gulf hostilities.
Sources: Iran's Asymmetric Naval Warfare
Fariborz Haghshenass described the fiberglass Ashura motorboat as a numerous IRGC Navy craft able to carry a heavy machine gun, multiple rocket launcher, or single contact mine.
Sources: Iran's Asymmetric Naval Warfare
Radio Farda reported that a Bandar Abbas delivery of more than 100 new IRGC Navy gunboats included improved Ashura, Tareq, and Zolfaghar versions.
Sources: More Than 100 Gunboats Delivered To Revolutionary Guard's Navy
Tasnim reporting republished by Eurasia Review said 110 Ashura-class speedboats joined the IRGC Navy and could fire missiles and rockets.
Sources: Iran: 110 Combat Speedboats Delivered To IRGC Navy
Tasnim quoted the IRGC Navy commander saying Tareq-class and Ashura-class boats had been armed with Kowsar missiles and paired with 3-D radars.
Sources: Tasnim IRGC Navy speedboats report







