Which stealth features do in-service FACs possess? I believe the Swedes or Norwegians are working on stealth FACs and introducing them to service, but the rest are as cluuttered with radar-reflecting devices as any other ships.
There is a history of FACs v. anti-ship missiles, and it is all bad news for the FACs. The RN’s helo-launched Sea Skuas have an impressive strike rate against them, and that technology is over 20 years old. There is no reason to suppose that they make difficult targets for larger ASMs either: they can’t manoeuvre fast enough to avoid them. At the moment, helos are far less vulnerable to FACs than FACs are to helos.
What FACs need isn’t a large SAM system but a lightweight point-defence anti-missile system (whether gun or missile based). However, that is always likely to be less effective than the same system on board a larger vessel, partly because of the lower radar height giving less warning, partly because of greater boat movement in any kind of sea.
Why would submarines bother to attack FACs (unless they were posing a threat to friendly vessels)? The FACs can’t hurt the subs, so the subs would just ignore them.
Their small size and lack of a helo makes FACs considerably less versatile and useful than a corvette, hence they represent worse value for money. There may be some circumstances in which a FAC is a better choice than a corvette, but they would be the exception rather than the rule.
Tony Williams: Military gun and ammunition website and discussion
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