News / Defense

IRGC Navy showcases long-range fast cruising vessel

Tuesday, 13 September 2016 8:45 AM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 13 September 2016 9:21 AM ]

Iran’s domestically-manufactured long-range and fast cruising vessel has a helicopter on its deck. (Photo by Mehr)

The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy has unveiled a domestically-designed and -manufactured long-range and fast cruising vessel with a helipad on its deck to accommodate a helicopter gunship.

The watercraft, dubbed Shahid Mohammad Nazeri, was showcased for the first time during a ceremony in Iran’s southern port city of Bushehr on Tuesday morning.

IRGC Navy Commander Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi, Commander of the IRGC’s Second Naval Zone Rear Admiral Ali Razmjou and several other senior Iranian military figures were in attendance at the unveiling ceremony.

Addressing the ceremony, Rear Admiral Fadavi said the 55-meter fast cruising vessel is 14.1 meters wide, with a height of 13 meters. He said the craft, which has been designed, manufactured and equipped indigenously, has an operating range of 10,000 kilometers, and is capable of carrying 100 military personnel and a helicopter on board in all weather conditions.

On October 3, 2015, the IRGC Navy unveiled a torpedo-armed watercraft capable of operating both on and under water.

This photo shows Iran’s torpedo-armed submersible watercraft Zolfaqar.

The 17-meter-long Zolfaqar weighs about 22 tonnes and has a speed of more than 70 kilometers per hour on the sea surface. It also employs a four-meter-long torpedo which can target aircraft carriers, vessels weighing up to 200 tonnes, oil platforms as well as loading and unloading docks.

In recent years, Iran has made great achievements in its defense sector and has attained self-sufficiency in producing essential military equipment and systems.

The Islamic Republic has repeatedly assured other states that its military might poses no threat to other countries since the Islamic Republic’s defense doctrine is based entirely on deterrence.

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