Iran to test indigenous, high-power missiles, torpedoes in naval drill’

A senior Iranian commander says indigenous missiles and torpedoes with great precision and high destructive power will be tested during the ongoing Velayat 91 naval drills.

“Domestic missiles and torpedoes with greater range, precision and destructive power compared to materiel used in last year’s drill wills be tested during the Velayat 91 naval exercises,” Rear Admiral Amir Rastegari, spokesman for the drills, said on Friday.

Iran’s Navy launched the six-day naval maneuvers on Friday in order to display the country’s capabilities to defend its maritime borders and maintain durable peace in the region.

The exercises cover a vast area including the Strait of Hormuz, the Sea of Oman, north of the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Aden and Bab-el-Mandeb Strait.

The commander described using overhauled super-heavy Tareq 901 submarine as the turning point of the exercises.

Iranian Warships Dock in Sudan, Again

wo Iranian warships docked in Port Sudan on Saturday, a witness told AFP. This marks the second port call by the Iranian navy in Sudan in five weeks.

The Iranian navy said the 1,400 ton frigate Jamaran and the 4,700 ton support ship Bushehr "docked in Port Sudan, after successfully carrying out their assignments in the Red Sea, and were greeted by high-ranking Sudanese naval commanders." It did not say how long the warships would stay in port.

Khartoum said it was a "normal" port call but Israeli officials have expressed concern about arms smuggling through Sudan.

They have long accused the African country of serving as a base of support for the terrorists of Hamas, which rules Gaza.

Sudanese army spokesman Sawarmi Khaled Saad told reporters on Friday night that the visit is "part of diplomatic and military exchanges between the two countries," and will last for three days.

A pair of Iranian navy vessels, the supply ship Kharg and corvette Admiral Naghdi, spent about two days at Port Sudan in late October.This took place immediately after an October 23 strike against the Yarmouk military factory in the capital, which led to speculation that Iranian weapons were stored or manufactured there. Sudan blamed Israel for the blast, while Israel refused all comment on the accusation.

But a top Israeli defense official, Amos Gilad, said Sudan "serves as a route for the transfer, via Egyptian territory, of Iranian weapons to Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists." Eight days of fighting between Israel and Hamas ended on November 21 with an Egyptian-mediated truce after 174 Palestinian Authority Arabs and six Israelis were killed. The Jewish state has accused Iran of supplying Hamas with the Iranian-made Fajr 5 missile, which was used to target Tel Aviv during the conflict. 

Khartoum said Israel was spreading "fabricated information" about links between the Yarmouk military factory, Hamas and Iran

Navy has so far escorted 1600 Iranian vessels in Gulf of Aden: admiral

The commander of the Iranian Navy said on Tuesday that Iranian naval forces have so far escorted 1600 Iranian vessels in the Gulf of Aden. 

“So far, we have escorted 1600 vessels, and if we do not escort and protect these vessels, imports and exports will decrease and we will experience an economic crisis,” Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari stated. 

“Today, we take pride in the fact that we have built a destroyer and take our destroyer to other countries and (tell) them that we have this technology,” he said, referring to the Jamaran destroyer.  

Iran’s first domestically manufactured destroyer, the Jamaran, was launched in February 2010. 

The warship can carry helicopters and is equipped with torpedoes and electronic radar. It is 94 meters long and weighs over 1,500 tons.

The destroyer is capable of engaging in surface, air, and undersea warfare. 

Iranian Threat To Navy Grows

Tehran expands arsenal in Gulf; U.S. might suffer losses in a conflict's first hours

Iran is rapidly gaining new capabilities to strike at U.S. warships in the Persian Gulf, amassing an arsenal of sophisticated anti-ship missiles while expanding its fleet of fast-attack boats and submarines, U.S. and Middle Eastern analysts say.

The new systems, many of them developed with foreign assistance, are giving Iran’s commanders new confidence that they could quickly damage or destroy U.S. ships if hostilities erupt, the officials say.
Although U.S. Navy officials are convinced that they would prevail in a fight, Iran’s advances have fueled concerns about U.S. vulnerabilities during the opening hours of a conflict in the gulf.

Increasingly accurate short-range missiles — combined with Iran’s use of “swarm” tactics involving hundreds of heavily armed patrol boats — could strain the defensive capabilities of even the most modern U.S. ships, current and former military analysts say.

Iran Announces Another Miracle

Iran makes frequent announcements about the growth and modernization of its submarine force. The latest press release reveals that Iran is beginning to develop a nuclear powered submarine. On a more substantial level, last December they announced they had put another three of their Ghadir class submarines into service. While the nuclear powered sub project is a mirage, the Ghadir is real, as there are 19 of them in service.
What Iran does not issue press releases about is the stuff that doesn't work. Take, for example, the 400 ton Nahang class sub. This was to be the successor to the 120 ton Ghadirs. Alas, one Nahang entered service six years ago and none followed. The Nahang seemed to spend most of its time in port, full of technicians, or in dry dock, partially disassembled. A successor to the Nahang, the 1,000 ton Qaaem has yet to be finished after five years of effort. Moreover, the Qaaem, unlike the other Iranian built subs is not a mini-sub that can operate anywhere in the generally shallow Persian Gulf. For example, the three Russian built Kilo class subs Iran has are so big (2,300 tons) that they can only operate in about a third of the Persian Gulf. That makes them easier to find and destroy in the Gulf. That explains why Iran is increasingly sending its Kilos outside the Gulf.
Meanwhile, the successful Ghadir is another example of Iranian resourcefulness in the face of embargoes. Since 1996, when Russia agreed to stop selling them submarines, Iran has been working on their own designs. After ten years of trial and error they produced the 120 ton Ghadir (Qadir) class vessels in 2005. Iran claims to have a fleet of 19 of these small diesel electric subs and no less than four have been shown together and photographed. The Iranians are not releasing specification sheets to anyone, but Ghadirs look very similar to the Italian Cosmos SX-506B submarines that Columbia has operated since the 1980s. The 100-ton SX-506Bs are only large enough to carry commandos and mines. However, released news footage shows what looks like to be two torpedo tubes on the Iranian Ghadirs. The Iranians claim that the Ghadirs carry torpedoes.
It should be remembered that Cosmos exported a number of larger vessels to Pakistan in the 1990s. Dubbed the SX-756 they may have been the design basis for the Ghadir. It should also be acknowledged that the North Korean Sang-O class submarine closely approximates the Ghadir type. In 2007, North Korea gave Iran, outright, four of its Yugo-type midget submarines. These Yugos were well worn 90-ton 21 meter (65 foot) craft but Iran accepted them all the same. Taking them apart taught the Iranians much about how to design and build mini-subs.
Iran took the big leap in the early 1990s, when they acquired three Kilo 877/636 type diesel electric submarines from Russia. The 2,300 ton Kilos are long range subs capable of operating throughout the Indian Ocean (from South Africa to Australia). The Kilos have six 533mm (21 inch) torpedo tubes and 18 torpedoes (including one or more Shkval rocket torpedo) or 24 mines. Very similar to the world-standard diesel submarine, the 1800-ton German Type 209, the Kilo is a formidable foe and can stay at sea for up to 45 days, which makes it capable of long range patrols.
All this Iranian submarine activity has spurred the U.S. to develop new tools and techniques for detecting small subs in shallow waters. The Americans have not released results of tests against NATO mini-subs. But that is to be expected. You save that kind of surprise for the first few days of a war.

How dangerous is Iran's submarine fleet?

Should we be worried by a recent announcement Iran has retrofitted its fleet with 'the best and most equipped systems existing in the world,'and that some of the fleet is deployed to the inland Caspian Sea?

A senior Iranian naval commander announced yesterday that Iran has retrofitted its submarine fleet with "the best and most equipped systems existing in the world" and that some of these submarines had even been deployed to the inland Caspian Sea.

Should we be worried about this new underwater threat? Probably not, the same admiral said two weeks ago that Iran is not planning to build a nuclear submarine.

Iran:'' Our warships will patrol the high seas''

Claim or routine military prowess? 
Iran reached a new climax on Monday with the announcement of its warships to patrol in international waters "to protect the tankers" beyond the Persian Gulf and the Sea Mediterranean.

Navy to patrol waters beyond Mediterranean Sea Iran Cmdr

Iran’s Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari says the Iranian warships will soon expand their presence in international waters and patrol beyond the Mediterranean Sea to provide security for commercial and tanker vessels.
 
Speaking at a ceremony in Tehran on Sunday, Rear Admiral Sayyari stated that the Iranian Navy is currently operating in the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea to maintain security.
 
He said Iranian maritime forces will go beyond the Mediterranean Sea in the near future.
 
Iran's Permanent Representative to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Ali Akbar Marzban said on May 18 that Iran's Navy has conducted at least 85 anti-piracy missions in international waters over the past three years.
 
He highlighted that more than 2,000 cargo vessels have also received Iranian naval escorts through the pirate-infested waters during the mentioned period.
 
Iran's Navy has been multiplying its naval presence in the international waters since last year, deploying vessels to the Indian Ocean and dispatching two ships via the Suez Canal to the Mediterranean for the first time in February 2011.
 
In addition, in line with international efforts to combat piracy, the Iranian Navy has been conducting anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden since November 2008 to safeguard the vessels involved in maritime trade, especially the ships and oil tankers owned or leased by Iran.
 
The Gulf of Aden, which links the Indian Ocean with the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean Sea, is the quickest route for thousands of vessels traveling annually between Asia, Europe and the Americas.
 
However, attacks by heavily armed Somali pirates on board speedboats have prompted some of the world's largest shipping firms to switch routes from the Suez Canal and reroute cargo vessels around southern Africa, leading to climbing shipping costs.

Iran to Build 10 New Warships

Iran will build 10 new frigates and destroyers, Navy deputy chief Rear Adm. Abbas Zamini said on Wednesday. 

These include a Mowj-1 class destroyer, launched in 2010, and Velayat, a Mowj-2 class destroyer, whose construction is 70 percent complete and will finish by the end of the current year, he said, according to Press TV.

The new projects also include Mowj and Sina-class destroyers and guided missile frigates, Zamini said.

The Iranian Navy floated out its first domestically built destroyer, Jamaran, in February 2010.

The 1,420-ton destroyer is equipped with modern radar systems and other electronic warfare capabilities. It has a top speed of up to 30 knots and a helipad. It also features highly advanced anti-aircraft, anti-surface and anti-subsurface systems.

Iran to Unveil Several Home-Made Destroyers, Missile Frigates Soon

Speaking to FNA on Tuesday, Lieutenant Commander of the Navy for Technical Affairs Rear Admiral Abbas Zamini reminded that the designing and building of Jamaran destroyer, a Mowdge 1 Class vessel, showed Iran's high technical know-how and capabilities in manufacturing battleships, and added that the country is already manufacturing a second generation of the hi-tech vessel.
 
The construction phase of Velayat destroyer, a Mowdge 2 Class vessel, is 70% through, he said, and added that the vessel is under construction in Iran's Northern port city of Bandar Anzali.
 
The admiral declared that Velayat will be launched this Iranian year (ends on March 2013).
 
"In addition" the commander stated "construction of other Mowdge and Sina-class destroyers are underway including Mowdge 3 and 4 projects."
 
He further announced that construction of a Mowdge 5 class destroyer, named Sahand, will end in the near future, and the Navy vessel will be launched this year.
 
The Admiral noted the manufacture of Sina-class missile-launching frigates, and said that construction of three classes of this Navy vessel is on Iran's agenda.
 
He also mentioned that the Iranian defense ministry and the Navy are working on four projects to build four different classes of warships, and said the four projects are called Sina 4, 5, 6 and 7.
 
Iran's first home-made destroyer, Jamaran, was launched in late February 2010. The Mowdge Class vessel has a displacement of around 14,000 tons and is equipped with modern radars and electronic warfare capabilities and is armed with a variety of anti-ship, surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles.
 
Jamaran is also equipped with different kinds of weapons, including a powerful and smart missile named 'Nour' (light).

Iran is building warships more advanced than Jamaran destroyer

The Navy commander says Iran has started producing warships which are technologically much more advanced than the Jamaran destroyer.

 

“The Jamaran destroyer is just a sample… and destroyers based on modern technology and much more advanced than the Jamaran destroyer are now being manufactured,” Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayari told the Mehr News Agency.

 

Sayari also said Iran will not restrict itself to just one destroyer in Open seas.

 

The Jamaran destroyer first set sail for the north of the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden on October 9, 2010. It has so far saved dozens of Iranian and foreign cargo ships from pirate attacks in the international waters.

 

The Jamaran was the first domestically manufactured destroyer. It can carry helicopters and is equipped with torpedoes. It is 94 meters long and weighs over 1,500 tons. The warship is capable of engaging in surface, air, and undersea warfare.

The Iranian Navy is assisting a U.S. ship attacked by pirates in the Persian Gulf

The Iranian navy has helped a U.S. flagged vessel was attacked by pirates off the UAE, says the owner Maersk Line Ltd..

The Iranian Navy was the first to respond to the first distress call by Maersk Texas. The ship was attacked by several skiffs and armed guards on board the ship returned fire, the company said in a statement.

The incident occurred around noon, northeast of Fujairah. The Iranian Navy has given instructions to the crew by radio. The company declined to give further details.

For the European force Atalanta, who reviewed the incident, it is not a case of piracy, but a false alarm.

According to the captain of the merchant vessel, board the guards exchanged fire with a skiff located in a group of about 20 boats.

Iranian Navy to Expand Operational Zone in Indian Ocean

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran's Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari announced that the Navy plans to stretch its operational range in the Northern waters of the Indian Ocean.

Speaking to reporters after a meeting with Assistant Chief of Staff of Oman's Armed Forces Rashed Bin Seif Bin Al-Rashidi here in Tehran, Sayyari stressed the necessity for further interactions between Iran and the countries on the Northern rims of the Indian Ocean given the Navy's plan to increase its operational zone.

"Given the expansion of the operational zone of the Army's Navy in the Northern Indian Ocean and our plan for going to waters beyond the 10-degree latitude, we need to have interaction and cooperation with the neighboring states, special countries in the North of the Indian Ocean," Sayyari stated.

He pointed to the Navy's presence in international waters in North of the Indian Ocean, Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, and stressed that maintaining such a naval presence demands cooperation with the neighboring states, Oman in particular, reminding that Muscat is among the ports where Iran's naval fleets dock to carry out their necessary tasks, like repair and maintenance.

The Iranian Navy has been conducting anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden since November 2008, when Somali raiders hijacked the Iranian-chartered cargo ship, MV Delight, off the coast of Yemen.

According to UN Security Council resolutions, different countries can send their warships to the Gulf of Aden and coastal waters of Somalia against the pirates and even with prior notice to Somali government enter the territorial waters of that country in pursuit of Somali sea pirates.

The Gulf of Aden - which links the Indian Ocean with the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean Sea - is an important energy corridor, particularly because Persian Gulf oil is shipped to the West through the Suez Canal.