click photos to enlarge
IRINS Sabalan (FFG 73) Alvand class frigate
IRINS Naghdi (FS 82) Bayandor class corvette
IRINS Yunes (SSK 903) Tareq (Kilo) class submarine
Wellington class (UCAC 106) BH.7 Mk 5 hovercraft fiited with AShM launchers
Ghadir class (SSC) submarine builds
Professional looking ship builders at Bander Abbas
Photos: leader.ir
Please stop showing faces of people.. they would get killed by Mossad and claimed to have been nuclear shipbuilders.
ReplyDeleteThe maintenance of this average 40 year old pre-revolutionary fleet by excellent Iranian technicians, ship-builders and engineers is a feat of world class engineering marvel by itself. However, Iran needs to rapidly implement a major naval upgrade program for IRIN.
ReplyDeleteEven the Chinese are taking the cost and technology effective method of upgrading the junked Russian aircraft carrier into their first ocean going modernized CV. Iran would be wise to look at similar expedient option of buying second hand frigates from various international sources and then modernizing and refurbishing them with new weapons systems, reinforced hulls and other high-tech maritime technology.
Iran's commercial ship-buiding is world class with a skilled and dedicated workforce, hence upgrading naval assets should not be a major problem. Acquiring KILO class or more updated subs should also be a priority. Cooperation with China and Pakistan in this area would be helpful for all as the Chinese have sold their most modern frigates to the Pakistanis.
Yup,the ships of the Iranian Navy are maintained well enough to defeat Somali pirates.
ReplyDeleteFurther improvements might take the Iranian Navy closer to ranking in the top three dozen navies of the world.
But it would just be a waste of money, as would be trying to overhaul some old carrier from somebody else's discard pile.
You are delusional if you think these antique naval weapons and the Mullah's IRGC are a match for the US naval forces in the region !
ReplyDeleteThey will be sunk within a few hours of a battle.
What egress route will Iran's navy use when the shooting starts?
ReplyDeleteWill the US still destroy Iran's entire navy if it runs for Karachi?
I'm thinking Iran will have very little to no navy left after after three days of warfare.
Actually, the greater variable is the effect of large numbers of AShMs and even, to a lessor extent, tactical applications of SSMs, against USN assets in such a confined, target rich environment that is the PG.
ReplyDeleteMark, while you consider the extent of the damage that the Iranian Navy can inflict upon the USN's assets in the Persian Gulf prior to the Iranian Navy's destruction, consider also that the battle in the Persian Gulf won't be confined to the water.
ReplyDeleteThe really target-rich environment should such a battle ever occur would be in Iran.
Let us hope that the battle would never have to be joined, because while Iran likes to make childish boasts about their military might, they would never have the nerve to send their rag-tag collection of old ships into a real battle with the USN.
Such an attack would leave all of Iran reduced and helpless in less than a week.
Annon 12:43 AM, Like in Libya??? I think you guys tend to overestimate US military capability too much.
ReplyDeleteThe backbone of All the US fleet in the Persian Gulf are her aircraft carriers. You really believe Iran is not capable of sinking at least one or two of these toys?
Heck, Iran doesn't even need to hit US aircraft carriers. Just a few well targeted missiles at oil installations in host countries to US bases will end the war quicker than it had begun.As a matter of fact, the US won't be starting another war in the region for decades as they're up to their eyeballs in debt because of stupid military adventures in the region. Like the crumbling Soviet empire, the US will be forced to sell off most of her massive military junk just to survive.
---"You really believe Iran is not capable of sinking at least one or two of these toys?"---
ReplyDeleteIran has a tremendous amount of things of which it's not capable and sinking doing more than getting their navy destroyed by attacking the USNavy is beyond them.
You want to get all happy if they manage to strike (and not sink) a couple of the ships that the US has in the Gulf, be my guest.
But the US has more than a thousand ships available to replace them, and Iran won't be replacing her couple of hundred.
If Iran wants to target Arab oil installations, that'll just mean that the end of the Iranian regime will meet with open (rather than private) rejoicing across the Middle East .
No big deal.
Annon 12:43 AM, most navy ships are to big to hide in mosques or behind your wife & children.
ReplyDeleteThis will be a shooting war, your military and economy (the things you in iran claim are so great compared to the rest of the worlds), will be completely devastated.
Make no mistake...this war will be here sooner than you think, its what your leaders want...its what they need.
Iran will be the most target rich environment in the history of warfare!
Good luck choosing which targets to shoot at, when more than 10,000 of them show up on your radars at once....Israeli tech at its best!
Too bad for your people...I wish them to have new leaders & much peace & prosperity after this is over...if your religious leaders allow such things???
Without close air support in a Naval battle (The Iranian airforce is a joke with its 40 year fighters) any naval force is doomed. Those people who think the Americans and Nato has not come up with a strategi to combat the idea of Iranian assymetric naval warfare are kidding themselves. The American navy is already developing counter mes. for this scenario. It is more important for the Mullahs to keep the power. They will never dare to attack oil installations of the Saudis or other Gulf states and they can not and will not close the Hormoz straits as they know it will bring a fierce bombardment of the country.
ReplyDelete"They will never dare to attack oil installations of the Saudis or other Gulf states and they can not and will not close the Hormoz straits as they know it will bring a fierce bombardment of the country."
ReplyDeleteAnd you know this? How so? Is there a secret non of us are aware of? Is this why the US's been threatening for the past 30 years without actually attacking?
The Saudi forces couldn't even handle a rag-tag Yemeni Houthis and had to import foreigner to fly their jets for them. You really believe they're in a position to counter Iran if Iran strike their oil facilities?
If your assumptions are based on the amount of weapons they've bought from the West then I'm sorry. The Saudis buy weapons to gain political influence with the West. Most of the weapons are dumped in the desert to rot. Heck, they don't even trust their own people enough to train them on how to use it and instead prefer to hire foreign mercilessness.
This not a pissing competition.
Good thing that it's not a pissing competition 'cause if it was merely that, the uniforms of the Iranian sailors would show the most.
ReplyDeleteThe competence of the Saudi military may be as low as the Iranian, but that'll hardly matter if the US military is involved.
All the lying and bragging in the world and even the next one won't change the simple fact that should the Iranian's attack the US fleet in the gulf, the Iranian navy would not last three days and the rest of Iran's military assets would be gone in a week.
The simple fact is that Iran's got a fair amount of brains and an awful lot of mouth, but not much muscle.