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[[Image:Teniente Orella LM37.jpg|thumb|A fast attack craft of the [[Chilean Navy]]]]
A '''fast attack craft''' ('''FAC'''), also referred to as a PTG or a PCG,<ref name=":0" /> is a small, fast, agile, offensive, often affordable [[warship]] armed with [[anti-ship missile]]s, [[Naval gun|gun]] or [[torpedo]]es. FACs are usually operated in close proximity to land as they lack both the [[seakeeping]] and all-round defensive capabilities to survive in [[Blue-water navy|blue water]]. The size of the vessel also limits the fuel, stores and water supplies.
A fast attack craft's main advantage over other warship types is its affordability. Many FACs can be deployed at a relatively low cost, allowing a navy which is at a disadvantage to effectively defend itself against a larger adversary.<ref>{{cite web |date=4 March 2015 |title=Taiwan must rethink naval strategy: expert |url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2012/09/09/2003542316 |
==History==
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====Post-World War II====
[[File:German fast attack craft S57 Weihe (P6157) in the Baltic Sea on 28 August 1985.jpg|thumb|German fast attack craft S57 Weihe (P6157), 1985]]
After World War II, the use of this kind of craft steadily declined in the United States and Britain, despite the introduction of safer diesel engines to replace the highly flammable gasoline ones, although the [[Soviet Union]] still had large numbers of MGBs and MTBs in service.
[[File:183R.JPG|thumb|left|A {{sclass2|Komar|missile boat|2}} launching a [[Styx missile]]]]
[[File:HMS Ystad R142.JPG|thumb|left|The Swedish [[Norrköping-class missile boat|''Norrköping''-class missile boat]] HSwMS ''Ystad'']]
With the development of the [[anti-ship missile]], FACs were reborn in the Soviet Union as "[[missile boat]]s" or "missile cutters". The first few missile boats were originally torpedo boats, with the torpedo tubes replaced by missile launchers. Again, small fast craft could attack and destroy a major warship. The idea was first tested by the Soviet Union which, in August 1957, produced the {{sclass2|Komar|missile boat|4}} which mounted two [[P-15 Termit]] missiles on a {{convert|25|m|ft|sing=on}} hull with a top speed of around {{convert|40|kn|lk=in}}. Endurance was limited to {{convert|1000|nmi|lk=in}} at {{convert|12|kn}} and the vessels had supplies for only five days at sea. 110 Komar-class vessels were produced, while over 400 examples were built of the following {{sclass2|Osa|missile boat|4}} with a significant portion of the total being sold to pro-Soviet nations.
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The first combat use of missile boats was an attack by two Egyptian Soviet-built Komar-class boats on the Israeli destroyer [[INS Eilat (1955)|''Eilat'']] on 20 October 1967, several months after the [[Six-Day War]]. The two boats launched a total of four P-15 missiles, three of which struck the ''Eilat'' and sank her with the loss of 47 crew dead or missing and over 90 wounded.<ref>{{cite web|author=John Pike |url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/israel/k40-eilat.htm |title=Eilat Destroyer |publisher=Globalsecurity.org |date=21 October 1967 |access-date=11 March 2015}}</ref>
[[File:Schnellboot Gepard-Klasse Typ 143 A.jpg|thumb|A {{sclass|Gepard|fast attack craft|0}} vessel of the [[German Navy]], 2010]]
The Soviet FACs prompted a [[NATO]] response, which became more intense after the sinking of ''Eilat''. The Germans and French worked together to produce a new FAC, resulting in the {{
Size has also increased, some designs reaching up to [[corvette]] size, 800 tonnes including a [[helicopter]], giving them extended modes of operation. While the Israeli {{sclass2|Sa'ar 4|missile boat|1}}s, for example, had a 58 metre hull and 415-ton displacement, the {{sclass2|Sa'ar 5|corvette|5}} is 85 metres in length and displaces 1,065 tons, and is officially rated as a corvette.
Iran and North Korea have some of the largest numbers of FACs in operation today. North Korea alone operates more than 300,<ref>Hy Sang Lee: ''North Korea: A Strange Socialist Fortress'', p. 85</ref> while Iran has been seen developing "swarm boats" to be used as harassing vessels in the heavily contested littoral waters of the [[Persian Gulf]]. To counter the threat, the [[US Navy]] has been developing an ASUW Littoral Defensive Anti Surface Warfare doctrine, along with vessels such as the [[littoral combat ship]].
===Current operators===
* {{navy|Algeria}} operates eight [[Osa-class missile boat|''Osa''-class]].
* {{navy|Angola}} operates six [[Osa-class missile boat|''Osa''-class]]
* {{navy|Argentina}} operates two [[Intrépida-class fast attack craft|''Intrépida''-class]].
* {{navy|Azerbaijan}} operates three [[Osa-class missile boat|''Osa''-class]]
* {{navy|Bangladesh}} operates four [[Type 021-class missile boat|''Huangfeng''-class]].
* {{navy|Brunei}} operates two [[Fearless-class patrol vessel|''Fearless''-class]], 1 [[Waspada-class fast attack craft|''Waspada''-class]], and 1 [[KDB Mustaed|''Mustaed''-class]].
* {{navy|Chile}} operates three [[Sa'ar 4-class fast attack craft|''Sa'ar 4''-class]].
* {{navy|China}} operates 60 [[Type 022 missile boat|''Houbei''-class]], 18 [[Type 037 corvette|''Houxin''-class]], and 5 [[Type 037 corvette|''Houjian''-class]].
* {{navy|Croatia}} operates 2 [[Helsinki-class missile boat|''Helsinki''-class]], 2 [[Kralj-class missile boat|''Kralj''-class]], and 1 [[Končar-class missile boat|''Končar''-class]].
* {{navy|Cuba}} operates six [[Osa-class missile boat|''Osa''-class]].
* {{navy|Ecuador}} operates three [[Seawolf-class fast attack craft|''Seawolf''-class]].
* {{navy|Egypt}} operates 4 [[Ambassador MK III missile boat|''Ezzat''-class]], 6 [[October-class missile boat|''October''-class]], 8 [[Osa-class missile boat|''Osa''-class]], 6 [[Ramadan-class missile boat|''Ramadan''-class]], 5 [[Tiger-class fast attack craft|''Tiger''-class]], and 4 [[Type 062 gunboat|''Shanghai''-class]].
* {{navy|Eritrea}} operates five [[Osa-class missile boat|''Osa''-class]], all captured from Ethiopia.
* {{navy|Equatorial Guinea}} operates two [[Sa'ar 4-class missile boat|''Sa'ar 4''-class]].
* {{navy|Finland}} operates four [[Hamina-class missile boat|''Hamina''-class]] and four [[Rauma-class missile boat|''Rauma''-class]].
* {{navy|Gabon}} operates the [[Gabonese fast attack craft President El Hadj Omar Bongo|''President El Hadj Omar Bongo'']].
* {{navy|Ghana}} operates two [[Albatros-class fast attack craft|''Albatros''-class]] and two [[Gepard-class fast attack craft|''Gepard''-class]], all purchased from Germany.
* {{navy|Greece}} operates 7 [[Roussen-class fast attack craft|''Roussen''-class]], 9 [[La Combattante III-class fast attack craft|''La Combattante III''-class]], and 3 [[La Combattante II type fast attack craft|''La Combattante II''-class]].
* {{navy|Indonesia}} operates 8 [[Clurit-class fast attack craft|''Clurit''-class]], 6 [[Sampari-class fast attack craft|''Sampari''-class]], 3 [[Mandau-class fast attack craft|''Mandau''-class]], 1 [[Klewang-class fast attack craft|''Klewang''-class]], and 2 [[Waspada-class fast attack craft|''Waspada''-class]].
* {{navy|Iran}} operates 10 [[La Combattante II type fast attack craft|''La Combattante II''-class]] and 5 [[Sina-class fast attack craft|''Sina''-class]].
* {{flagicon|Iran}} [[Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy]] operates 10 [[Tondar-class fast attack craft|''Tondar''-class]], 5 [[C 14-class missile boat|''C 14''-class]], 25 [[Peykaap II-class missile boat|''Peykaap II''-class]], and 6 [[Peykaap III-class missile boat|''Peykaap III''-class]]
* {{navy|Israel}} operates eight [[Sa'ar 4.5-class missile boat|''Sa'ar 4.5''-class]].
* {{navy|Japan}} operates six [[Hayabusa-class patrol boat|''Hayabusa''-class]]es.
* {{navy|Kazakhstan}} operates four [[Kazakhstan-class missile boat|''Kazakhstan''-class]] and a single [[Mangistau-class missile boat|''Mangistau''-class]].
* {{navy|Kenya}} operates two [[Nyayo-class missile boat|''Nyayo''-class]], and one [[Madaraka-class missile boat|''Madaraka''-class]].
* {{navy|North Korea}} operates 7 [[Nongo-class warship|''Nongo''-class]], 10 [[Osa-class missile boat|''Osa''-class]], 6 [[Komar-class missile boat|''Komar''-class]], and 4 [[Type 021-class missile boat|''Huangfeng''-class]].
* {{navy|South Korea}} operates 30 [[Yoon Youngha-class patrol vessel|''Yoon Youngha''-class]].
* {{navy|Kuwait}} operates 8 [[Um Al Maradim-class fast attack craft|''Um Al Maradim''-class]], a single [[Istiqlal-class fast attack craft|''Istiqlal''-class]], and a single [[Al Sanbouk-class fast attack craft|''Al Sanbouk''-class]].
* {{navy|Libya}} operates a single [[La Combattante II type fast attack craft|''La Combattante II''-class]].
* {{navy|Mexico}} operates two [[Sa'ar 4.5-class missile boat|''Sa'ar 4.5''-class]].
* {{navy|Montenegro}} operates two [[Končar-class missile boat|''Končar''-class]].
* {{navy|Morocco}} operates four [[Lazaga-class patrol vessel|''Lazaga''-class]].
* {{navy|Myanmar}} operates 2 [[49m stealth fast attack craft|''49m''-class]], 20 [[5-Series-class fast attack craft|''5 Series''-class]], and 6 [[Type 037 corvette|''Houxin''-class]].
* {{navy|Nigeria}} operates three [[La Combattante III-class fast attack craft|''La Combattante III''-class]] and three [[Luerssen FPB57 fast patrol boat|''Luerssen FPB57''-class]].
* {{navy|Oman}} operates four [[Province-class fast attack craft|''Province''-class]].
* {{navy|Pakistan}} operates two [[Jalalat-class missile boat|''Jalalat''-class]] and two [[Jurrat-class missile boat|''Jurrat''-class]].
* {{navy|Philippines}} operates 4 missile-installed or full-on version of [[Acero-class patrol gunboats|''Acero''-class]] and 6 [[Multipurpose Assault Craft]] Mk.3 variant
* {{navy|Poland}} operates three [[Orkan-class fast attack craft|''Orkan''-class]].
* {{navy|South Africa}} operates a single [[Warrior-class strike craft|''Warrior''-class]].
* {{navy|Sri Lanka}} operates four [[Dvora-class fast patrol boat|''Dvora''-class]] and two [[Sa'ar 4-class fast attack craft|''Sa'ar 4''-class]].
* {{navy|Qatar}} operates 3 [[La Combattante III-class fast attack craft|''La Combattante III''-class]] and 4 [[Barzan-class fast attack craft|''Barzan''-class]]
* {{navy|Romania}} operates three [[Osa-class missile boat|''Osa''-class]].
* {{navy|Syria}} operates 16 [[Osa-class missile boat|''Osa''-class]].
* {{navy|Taiwan}} operates 31 [[Kuang Hua VI-class missile boat|''Kuang Hua VI''-class]].
* {{navy|Tunisia}} operates 6 [[Albatros-class fast attack craft|''Albatros''-class]], 3 [[La Combattante III-class fast attack craft|''La Combattante III''-class]], 3 [[Bizerte-class fast attack craft|''Bizerte''-class]], and 5 [[Type 062 gunboat|''Shanghai''-class]].
* {{navy|Turkey}} operates 9 [[Kılıç-class fast attack craft|''Kılıç''-class]], 2 [[Yildiz-class fast attack craft|''Yildiz''-class]], 3 [[Doğan-class fast attack craft|''Doğan''-class]], and 4 [[Rüzgar-class fast attack craft|''Rüzgar''-class]].
* {{navy|Turkmenistan}} operates six [[FAC 33-class fast attack craft|''FAC 33''-class]].
* {{navy|Ukraine}} operates a single [[Matka-class missile boat|''Matka''-class]].
* {{navy|United Arab Emirates}} operates six [[Ban-Yas-class fast attack craft|''Ban-Yas''-class]] and two [[Mubarraz-class fast attack craft|''Mubarraz''-class]].
* {{navy|Venezuela}} operates six [[Constitución-class fast attack craft|''Constitución''-class]].
* {{navy|Vietnam}} operates eight [[Osa-class missile boat|''Osa''-class]] and a single [[BPS-500-class missile boat|''BPS-500''-class]].
==See also==
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