670-ton Falaj 3 carries warship-level firepower in compact patrol vessel 2%
By Atharva Gosavi41%
8/7/2026, 5:47:55 AM
Keywords: Falaj 3, Offshore Patrol Vessel, United Arab Emirates Navy, Abu Dhabi Ship Building, Edge Group, Anti Ship Missiles, Air Defense, Guided Rockets, Remote Weapon Stations, Naval Gun, Persian Gulf, Drones, Missiles, Helicopters, Fast Attack Craft, Leonardo 76mm Oto Super Rapid Gun, Strales, Dart Guided Projectiles, Mbda Vl Mica, Rim 116 Rolling Airframe Missiles, Mm40 Exocet Block 3c, Logir, Eos R400 M, Rheinmetall Multi Ammunition Soft Kill System, Leonardo Kronos 3d, Spynel, Al Dorra Class, Kuwait
BS Summary: This article contains 13 faulty reasoning types, including Overconfidence Bias, Representativeness Heuristic, and Availability Heuristic, with Framing Effect as the most egregious example at 10.1% saturation with 51 hits. Analysis detected 325 faulty-reasoning hits from 506 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 6.4% and a BS Rank of 2% (28,821 of 29,339 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 98.20% of the article peer group.
The United Arab Emirates Navy’s Falaj 3-class offshore patrol vessel is drawing attention for packing unusually heavy firepower into a hull displacing only around 670 tons.
Built by Abu Dhabi Ship Building, a subsidiary of EDGE Group, the roughly 200-foot vessel combines anti-ship missiles, layered air defenses, guided rockets, remote weapon stations, and a modern 76mm naval gun.
The design is intended for operations in the Persian Gulf, where ships may face drones, missiles, helicopters, and swarms of fast-attack craft at relatively short ranges.
The first vessel of the class, Altaf, entered service in February 2025.
Despite being officially classified as an offshore patrol vessel, the Falaj 3 carries weapons more commonly associated with missile corvettes.
Layered air defense on a small hull
At the bow, the vessel carries a Leonardo 76mm OTO Super Rapid gun equipped with the STRALES guided ammunition system.
The gun can fire DART guided projectiles against surface and aerial targets.
The rounds are guided by a radio beam and use a proximity fuze, making them suitable for engaging maneuvering missiles and fast-moving small boats.
Behind the gun is an eight-cell vertical launch system for MBDA VL MICA surface-to-air missiles, providing air-defense coverage out to roughly 12 miles.
Further aft, a 21-cell Mk 49 launcher carries RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missiles, adding another independent defensive layer against incoming aircraft and missiles.
Exocet adds long-range strike power
The offensive fit is equally notable.
Four MM40 Exocet Block 3C anti-ship missiles give the Falaj 3 the ability to strike surface targets at ranges of around 150 miles.
The vessel also carries two 12-cell Low-cost Guided Imaging Rocket launchers.
LOGIR uses infrared guidance and was developed primarily for maritime and coastal-defense roles.
The rockets provide a cheaper option for engaging drones, uncrewed surface vessels and fast attack craft without using more expensive missiles.
Two EOS R400-M 30mm remote weapon stations provide additional close-range firepower.
Two 32-barrel Rheinmetall Multi Ammunition Soft-kill System launchers can deploy decoys to help defeat incoming guided weapons.
Designed for Gulf warfare
The Falaj 3’s sensor suite centers on a Leonardo Kronos 3D multifunction radar housed inside the integrated mast.
It also carries a SPYNEL infrared search-and-track system for passive detection of nearby threats.
Together, these systems give the vessel air and surface surveillance alongside several layers of offensive and defensive firepower.
That configuration reflects the operating environment of the Persian Gulf, where naval vessels can face anti-ship missiles, drones and fast attack craft with limited warning.
Rather than prioritizing patrol endurance alone, the Falaj 3 concentrates combat capability into a compact platform.
EDGE is also building eight vessels based on the same design for Kuwait, where they will be known as the Al Dorra class.
The Falaj 3 reflects a broader naval trend in which compact sensors, missiles and combat systems are allowing smaller vessels to perform missions once reserved for much larger warships.
Its compact arsenal makes the class an unusually heavily armed modern offshore patrol vessel optimized for littoral operations.
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