Iran unveils its first drone carrier, with capacity for 60 UAVs
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps used an old South Korean-made merchant ship and refurbished it for military purposes.
Iran's first drone carrier ship.
Iran has launched its first military carrier-capable vessel at sea. With this military milestone for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, several images have been released of the new vessel operating in the waters of the Persian Gulf.
Until a few years ago, the IRIS Shahid Bagheri (C-110-4) was a South Korean-built seagoing freighter. After several years operating as such under the Iranian flag, Tehran's naval authorities decided to use the ship to transform it into a military vessel.
Several years later, Iran has converted the merchant vessel into a platform for launching and operating drones and helicopters in the waters it shares with the gulf monarchies and Iraq. The Shahid Bagheri is also capable of launching long-range missiles. It has a 196-yard-long runway for drones, and can travel up to 22,000 nautical miles without refueling at ports.
The carrier's inauguration coincides with the annual celebration of the Islamic Revolution that overthrew Iran's U.S.-backed shah.
Guard chief Gen. Hossein Salami said in remarks reported by the AP that the warship can travel "independently" on the seas for an entire year. "Iran is not considered a threat to any country, but we do not bow to the threat of any power," Salami said.
Drones, Iran's weapon of choice
Among them, the most widely used model is the Shaheed-136, a so-called "kamikaze" drone that swoops down on a target and detonates its payload as a mode of attack.
For this reason, the development of a mobile drone base in the Persian Gulf is understood to be a major advance for Iran in its intention to compete with Israel militarily. According to The Times of Israel, the new carrier vessel is capable of serving as a launch and control point for up to 60 Iranian drones.
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