Iranian Navy and Marine Forces. Iranian Navy Iran and its naval forces

Today, a solemn ceremony took place to accept the largest Iranian ship in the Caspian Sea, the light frigate Damavand of the Mowj project, into the Iranian Navy. The frigate was launched, and on July 17, 2014, its factory sea trials began. This is the second frigate of this Iranian project, the first frigate, Jamaran, was launched in 2007 on the shores of the Persian Gulf in the port of Bandar Abbas and now the third ship of this project is being built in Bandar Abbas.
The Mowj project is actually a consequence of Iranian reverse engineering of frigates British construction of the Vosper Mk 5 project and modification of the project to suit the capabilities of the Iranian military industry. At the moment, these are the largest warships that Iran has independently built in its history, their total displacement is about 1,500 tons.Judging by the photographs and videos, the main armament of the frigate "Demavend" consists of 4 Noor\Ghader anti-ship missile launchers (an Iranian copy of the C-802 and its modernized version with an increased range), 2 Mehrab anti-aircraft missile launchers (a copy of SM-1), 2x3 324 mm torpedo tubes, 76-mm AU Fajr 27 (copy of the Italian Oto Melara 76/62 Compact) , 40mm Fath AU (copy of Bofors L/70) and, in my opinion, 2 light single-barrel 20mm mounts. Like I already , the composition and placement of weapons on the frigate Damavand is somewhat different from the frigate Jamaran.

The frigate Damavand is named after the Damavand volcano in the Caspian province of Mazandaran, which is the highest point in Iran - 5610 meters above sea level. Thus, he continues the post-revolutionary Iranian tradition, interrupted by the frigate Jamaran, of naming large ships in honor of mountains, for example, three Iranian frigates of the Vosper Mk 5 project are named after mountains - Alvand (Alvand), Alborz (Elborz) and Sabalan (Sebelan).

The military-political leadership of the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI), assessing threats to the country's national security, pays special attention to increasing the combat power of the naval component of its armed forces. The efforts undertaken by Tehran are a preventive measure to neutralize attempts by the United States and a number of NATO countries to prevent the strengthening of Iranian influence in the Near and Middle East region and in the world as a whole.

According to the national military doctrine, the main tasks Iranian Navy are:

conducting combat operations against enemy naval groups and aircraft with the aim of gaining dominance in the waters of the Persian and Oman Gulfs and the Caspian Sea;
defense of the territorial waters and sea coast of Iran, including important administrative and political centers in the south of the country, economic regions, oil fields, naval bases, ports and islands;
disruption of enemy sea movements and communications in the Caspian Sea, Persian and Oman Gulfs;
control of the Strait of Hormuz;
providing direct support to ground forces and air forces in conducting operations in coastal areas;
conducting amphibious operations and fighting enemy amphibious assaults;
conducting continuous reconnaissance at sea.

ORGANIZATION, NUMBER, SHIPS OF THE IRANIAN NAVY

The Iranian Navy includes formations of the Army and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The number of personnel in the Army Navy is more than 20 thousand people (of which about 9 thousand are marines), the IRGC Navy is over 20 thousand (5 thousand marines).

Organizationally, the Army Navy includes: headquarters, five commands, four naval areas (BMP), combat formations and units, support and service units and training centers.

The Headquarters of the Army Navy (GVMB Bandar Abbas), which includes directorates and departments, is the main body for the administrative and operational management of formations and units of the Army Navy. He is entrusted with the functions of planning combat use, daily and combat activities of troops and their logistical support, as well as direct leadership of subordinate command headquarters: in the Strait of Hormuz zone, in the Gulf of Oman zone, in the Caspian Sea zone, naval aviation and the naval training command Army. The commands manage the daily activities of the naval forces of the country's Army.

The Naval Command in the Strait of Hormuz (GVMB Bandar Abbas) ensures the solution of the main tasks assigned to the naval forces in this region. It includes an operational-tactical formation - the 1st Naval Region (BMP, GVMB Bandar Abbas). The units included in the BMP are designed to provide defense and maintain the necessary operational regime in their areas of responsibility, protect water areas, and organize control of the surface and underwater situation. The naval region is led by a commander, to whom, in addition to the main units, the chief of the naval base is administratively subordinate, as well as coastal units and services that provide basic maintenance of ships.

The 1st BMP, in addition to the headquarters, includes:

3rd brigade of ships and boats (divisions of submarines, destroyers, frigates, landing ships, landing hovercraft, patrol and artillery boats);
1st MP brigade (about 4.5 thousand people) consisting of three battalions.

Naval aviation units are assigned to this area: a base patrol aviation squadron, the 3rd anti-submarine helicopter squadron and a transport aviation squadron. The 1st BMP's area of responsibility also includes a Navy training center.

The Army Naval Forces Command in the Gulf of Oman (Jask Naval Base) manages the fleet's operational formation and is designed to accomplish the tasks assigned to the Navy in its area of responsibility.

It consists of two operational-tactical formations - the 2nd (Jask naval base) and 3rd (Chakhbahar naval base) naval regions. The 2nd BMP, along with the headquarters, includes:

8th brigade of ships and boats (divisions of frigates, minesweepers, large anti-submarine patrol boats);
7th brigade of ships (71st and 72nd divisions of missile boats, division of landing hovercraft;
2nd MP Brigade.

Naval aviation units are assigned to the 2nd BMP: the 7th squadron of minesweeper helicopters, aircraft of the transport aviation squadron and the squadron of control and communications aircraft.

The 3rd BMP includes a headquarters, a division of ships and boats.

The Army Navy Command in the Caspian Sea zone (Bender-Anzeli naval base), which is a tactical formation, is intended primarily to conduct patrol service and maritime reconnaissance in the southern part of the Caspian Sea. It includes the 4th BMP (Bender-Anzeli naval base), which includes a headquarters, a division of ships and boats, a patrol boat division, and a training center for technical specialists.

The Naval Aviation Command (GVMB Bandar Abbas) consists of a headquarters and eight squadrons: one each of patrol aircraft, control and communications, minesweeper helicopters and transport helicopters, as well as two of anti-submarine transport helicopters.

The Training Command manages the training of personnel for the Iranian naval forces. It operates a training vessel, a Navy training center, and a 4th BMP technician training center.

The naval forces of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards are an independent structure of the country's armed forces. The personnel in 2013 numbered about 20 thousand people. The IRGC Navy is designed to protect coastal territories and conduct combat operations both independently and jointly with other types of Armed Forces of the Corps and Army. Organizationally, they include headquarters, three separate commands, four naval regions, combat formations and units, support and service units, training centers and institutions.

The leadership and control of troops in peacetime is carried out by the commander of the IRGC Navy through his apparatus, which includes deputies, the secretariat, headquarters, relevant commands and BMP headquarters.

The headquarters is the main body for administrative and operational management of formations and units of the Naval Forces of the corps. It is entrusted with the functions of planning combat use, daily and combat activities of troops and their logistical support. He directly manages the command headquarters under his control: in the Persian and Oman Gulf zones, the missile and training commands of the IRGC Navy.

The commands manage the day-to-day activities of formations, units and divisions of the corps' naval forces.

Part Naval Command in the Persian and Oman Gulfs includes four naval regions:

1st BMP (GVMB Bandar Abbas), which includes a headquarters, a brigade of ships and boats (divisions of landing ships, fast missile boats (RKA), patrol boats (PKA), landing boats, a brigade of boats, a division of small and midget submarines, as well as a marine brigade.
2nd BMP (Bushir naval base), which includes a headquarters, a brigade of ships and boats (divisions of landing ships, high-speed rocket launchers and anti-ship missiles), a marine brigade and a coastal security battalion.
3rd BMP (Bender-Khomeini naval base), which includes a headquarters, a brigade of boats (divisions of anti-ship missiles and small patrol boats), as well as a coastal security battalion.
4th BMP (Assa-luye naval base), including headquarters, a division of fast missile boats, a division of patrol boats and a coastal security battalion.

Missile Command e (Bender Abbas) has three missile brigades. The 26th (Bandar Abbas) and 36th (Bushir) consist of three missile divisions, and the 16th (Minab) includes four divisions.

Training Command supervises the IRGC Naval Officer School (Chalus), the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Missile Training Centers, as well as the training centers in Bandar Abbas and Qom.

Part naval surface forces includes: three frigates of the Alvand type (former English frigates Vosper Mk 5) and two Bayandor corvettes of the PF103 type, American-built, as well as the Jamaran FR (Movji project) of national production; 23 boats (missile and patrol boats of the “Caman” type, ten units each, French-built and “Tondor”, Chinese-built, three small patrol boats “Parvin” type PGM 71, American-built) and about 170 anti-ship missiles of various types.

Mine sweeping forces include the American-built Cape-type raid sea minesweeper "Riazi" (the second one has been removed from service), equipped with contact, acoustic and magnetic trawls, as well as two base minesweepers MSC 292/268 with a displacement of 384 tons.

Auxiliary fleet has the following ships: four British-built Hengan tank landing ships (51 Hengan - 1973, 52 Larak - 1974, 53 Lavan - 1985, 54 Tonb - 1985), three Iran Hormuz-24 landing ships; three small landing craft "Iran Hormuz-21", two small landing craft "Fouk" (MIG-S-3700), as well as six landing hovercraft "Wellington" (VN-7) and "Yunis-6" (all allocated in naval reserve).

In addition, it includes: one tanker (supply vessel) “Kharg” of the “Svoi Hunter” type (1993) built in England (1980); two tankers (supply vessels) “Bender Abbas” of the “Laring Yard” type, built in Germany (1973-1974); four Indian-built Kangan tankers (1979); six Pakistani-built Delwar supply vessels (1978-1982); 12 auxiliary vessels "Bakhtaran" ("Khondiyan", MIG-S-4700), as well as one training vessel "Hamzakh".

As of early 2013 Iranian Navy submarine force consisted of three Russian-built Project 877EKM (“Kilo” according to NATO classification) submarines.

Boats of this class are designed to combat enemy submarines and surface ships, protect naval bases, the sea coast and sea communications. They are low-noise and in their hydroacoustic characteristics are comparable to Israeli Dolphin-class submarines. Currently, two of the three boats are in need of repair.

The submarine with tail number 901 (“Tarek”) was built in 1991, with number 902 (“Nor”) in 1992 and 903 (“Yanez”) in 1994. Their base is the Bandar Abbas naval base.

The Iranian Army Navy also has nationally developed ultra-small submarines (SMPL) of the Qadir type. They are used by navies primarily in the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf, in particular for the transport of special forces, mining and reconnaissance. Due to their small size, these SMPLs are difficult to detect, but at the same time, in terms of their combat capabilities, they are inferior to the Project 877EKM submarines. In the summer of 2011, the Iranian Navy had 11 Qadir-class submarines in service, and in 2013 their number increased to 20.

In addition, the Iranian Navy has three nationally developed Al-Sabehat-15 underwater combat swimmer delivery vehicles (length 9.2 m). They are intended for Navy special operations forces. The last weapon entered service in 2000.

Coastal defense units included two brigades of HY-2 Silkworm anti-ship missile launchers (CSSL-3 Siriker) - four launchers (from 100 to 300 missiles) and YJ-2 (S-802) anti-ship missile launchers - four launchers (from 60 to 100 missiles).

Part Marine Corps includes two brigades each of the Army Navy and the IRGC.

Included naval aviation there are: 19 aircraft (Do-228 - five units, P-3F "Orion" - three, "Falcon" 20E - three, "Rockwell Turbo Commander" - four, F-27 "Friendship" - four); 30 helicopters (RH-53D "Sea Steel" - three units, SH-3D "Sea King" - 10, AV-212 - 10, AV-205A - five, AV-206B "Jet Ranger" - two).

BASED POINTS

The Iranian naval forces have a fairly developed infrastructure. The main naval base is Bandar Abbas, the naval bases are Bushehr, Kermanshah, Fr. Kharg, o. Farsi, Bandar-Khomeini, Bandar-Mashar, Bandar-Lenge, Jask, Chakhbahar and Bandar-Anzeli.

IRGC Navy bases: Sir Abu Noair, Abadan oil terminal, oil fields and platforms of Abu Musa, al-Fasiyah, Kurus, Halal, Larak, Qeshm, Rostam and Siri.

The repair and shipbuilding bases are represented by the MAN Nordhaman floating dock with a displacement of 28,000 tons, where the production of small submarines, patrol and landing boats, as well as auxiliary vessels has been established.

VIEWS ON THE PROSPECTS FOR THE CONSTRUCTION AND USE OF THE IRANIAN NAVY

Currently, the naval personnel of the Navy are capable of solving problems mainly in territorial waters.

Iran's naval forces are developing in accordance with the views of the country's military-political leadership on the prospects for creating favorable conditions to ensure national interests in the region. It is planned to implement the concept of reforming and rearmament of the Navy until 2025. The main provisions of target programs and directions for the development of this type of armed forces, taking into account the tasks it solves, were formulated based on the strategic plan of state leaders to maintain and expand a dominant role in the Near and Middle East and specifically in the Persian Gulf zone.

The results of events in northern Africa during the so-called Arab Spring, during which the United States and NATO initiated the removal of the leaders of a number of Arab states from power, had a certain impact on rethinking the country’s significance in the region. In addition, the persistent desire of Washington and its allies to establish control over the Iranian nuclear program was taken into account, using various forms of pressure in diplomatic, economic and other areas.

The main geostrategic goal of the Iranian leadership is the desire to expand its zone of influence in the region with access to the waters of the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. According to Iranian experts, this is possible by changing the organizational structure of the country's naval component, as well as by improving the coordination of the actions of formations and units to solve problems in their areas of responsibility.

Since 2012, the Iranian leadership has allocated about 5% of GDP for military needs. A significant portion of these funds goes to the implementation of targeted programs for reforming the Navy. This made it possible, by the beginning of 2013, to create in the region a naval grouping quite powerful in its potential, which is significantly superior to the groupings of the countries of the Cooperation Council of the Arab States of the Persian Gulf (GCC).

Since 2012, there has been a trend toward gradual integration of the combat structures of the Army and the IRGC. The reform plan plans to create a unified military structure based on these independent components by 2015. The main attention will be paid to implementing a set of measures to form an optimal combat force and equip it with modern weapons and military equipment.

In the interests of ensuring interaction between the components of the Navy, as well as in order to test the effectiveness of the measures taken to create a new operational structure as part of operational and combat training, a number of tactical and special exercises of the Iranian Navy were conducted in 2010-2013. One of the main tasks during these events was to rethink plans for attracting naval forces of the Army and the IRGC to eliminate duplicative actions in their operational areas, as well as the choice of forms and methods of their use outside the traditional areas of responsibility. According to Iranian military experts, this will free up some of the forces and resources to solve problems not only in the country’s territorial waters, but also in the waters of the Red Sea and the Eastern Mediterranean. In addition, the ability to implement the command’s views on conducting asymmetrical military operations at the operational-strategic level is increasing.

During this period, the Iranian Navy also took part in joint exercises with the navies of Saudi Arabia, Oman, Turkey, Qatar, Syria, and Djibouti, in which the main task was to master the maritime theater of operations, joint actions with the navies of the participating countries in addressing defense issues maritime communications, search and rescue, and mine warfare. In addition, the effectiveness of the new command and control system of the Army Navy and the IRGC was tested.

Iranian Navy takes part in the fight against Somali pirates

Measures to reorganize the Navy of the Army and the IRGC provide for joining efforts to solve identical problems with smaller forces and means within the geographical boundaries from the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to the Arabian Sea and the Strait of Malacca. As a result of this, the Army Navy will be able to effectively control water areas in the Caspian Sea, the Gulf of Oman and the Indian Ocean to the coast of Pakistan, and the mobility and combat capabilities of coastal artillery systems will increase. This will require the construction of new naval bases in the region, the disposal of old equipment and the supply of modern weapons and military equipment. In addition, it is expected to approve large-scale programs for the modernization of existing and construction of new warships.

To increase the combat capabilities of the national Navy, it is planned to adopt the latest high-speed missile and torpedo boats, as well as anti-ship missiles (ASM). Thus, in 2012, 12 modern Peykaap rocket launchers entered service with the IRGC Navy. High tactical and technical characteristics, in particular, low visibility to enemy radars, ensure their effective use in shallow waters of the northern part of the Persian Gulf.

In addition, this component is expected to receive high-speed warships of national design, which will be equipped with anti-ship missiles with a firing range of up to 300 km, as well as radar for detecting targets at a distance of up to 500 km.

The modernization program provides for the signing of a contract for the purchase of three Amur-class submarines from the Russian Federation by 2015. According to Iranian military experts, existing technologies also make it possible to build a new type of submarine at national enterprises.

Thus, the Iranian Navy today and in the foreseeable future is the most powerful in the region. Practical steps in the field of reforming and improving the naval component of the armed forces, taken by the Iranian leadership, will optimize the structure of operational formations and increase the combat capabilities of the Navy to solve the problems of ensuring the country’s national interests not only in traditional areas of responsibility, but also beyond them. The implementation of the stated target programs until 2025 may create the preconditions for changing the geopolitical and geostrategic situation in the Persian Gulf area and the Middle East, consisting in increasing the role of Iran in the region and its capabilities to ensure national security.

(Material prepared for the portal “Modern Army” © http://www.site based on an article by S. Stazherov. When copying an article, please do not forget to put a link to the source page of the “Modern Army” portal).

The military-political goals of the Islamic Republic of Iran at sea have not been officially announced anywhere. Therefore, any analysis of the concept of development of the Iranian Navy is very conditional. Most experts believe that the aspirations of the Iranian leadership in this area are based on the idea of ensuring absolute independence, both in domestic and foreign policy.

Political background

The basis of the declared independence, according to Iranian leaders, will be provided by nuclear missile weapons. Therefore, the main efforts are concentrated in the direction of possessing nuclear weapons and the means of their delivery - long-range missiles. Experts believe that the development of traditional types of military equipment in Iran is of a secondary nature. Also, most experts doubt the reality of efforts to destroy the State of Israel with nuclear missile weapons, although there are many political statements about this from Tehran.

The Tehran Nuclear Research Center, the Nuclear Technology Center in Isfahan, the Nuclear Research Center for Agriculture and Medicine in Karaj, and the nuclear research department in the city of Yazd are working on the problem of creating nuclear weapons in Iran (nearby there is a uranium deposit, the reserves of which are estimated at 3000–4000 tons according to uranium oxide equivalent, U-235 content - 0.08–1.00 percent) and the Moallem Kalaye site.

It is quite difficult to estimate the possible timing of Iran obtaining nuclear weapons, but most experts believe that this will happen in the coming years. The former head of the Russian Ministry of Atomic Energy, Yevgeny Adamov, once noted that Iran could create nuclear weapons. " They have quite qualified people. Nuclear specialists were trained in the West back in the times of the Shah“, he emphasized.

Navy development concept

According to available data, the main efforts in the development of the Iranian fleet are aimed at deploying a combat-ready naval group in the Indian Ocean. In the Caspian Sea, the Iranian Navy is represented only by patrol boats (PBO), operating in the interests of the border guard and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. At the same time, the development of the Navy itself is of a secondary nature in comparison with the ground forces and the Air Force, and this branch of the country's armed forces is still assigned very limited tasks.

These tasks include conducting military operations against enemy naval groups and aircraft in order to gain dominance in the waters of the Persian and Oman Gulfs, protecting the territorial waters and sea coast of Iran, including important administrative and political centers in the south of the country, economic regions, oil fields, military - naval bases, ports and islands, ensuring the protection of coastal sea communications and disrupting enemy sea communications in the Persian and Oman Gulfs, control of the Strait of Hormuz, providing direct support to ground forces and air forces during operations in maritime sectors, conducting amphibious operations, combating enemy amphibious assaults, conducting continuous reconnaissance at sea.

Taking into account the experience of the war with Iraq and periodic military clashes with the NATO Navy, the Iranian naval command so far gives preference to the development of non-nuclear submarines (NSPL), midget submarines (SMSL) and small-displacement combat boats (BKA). That is, those combat forces that can maintain combat effectiveness in an environment of total air supremacy of a potential enemy, which is primarily considered to be the United States.

It should be noted that Iran also has difficult relations with its neighbors, except Russia. For some time, Iran had complaints against Azerbaijan, but in recent years they have no longer been expressed: apparently, Tehran takes into account the close multilateral ties between Moscow and Baku.

Combat composition

The estimate of the size of the Iranian Navy by 2015–2020, given in the table, is quite cautious and shows the continuation of the trend towards the development of only small and ultra-small combat vehicles (SMPL and BKA).

Submarine forces

NAPL. Currently, the Navy has three Russian-built Project 877EKM nuclear submarines in service. They are designed to solve combat missions mainly in the Indian Ocean, although in peacetime they actively demonstrate their combat capabilities in the Persian Gulf. According to some reports, these boats may soon be upgraded to use cruise missiles (CR). In the early 2000s, the activity of Project 877EKM non-submarine submarines was reduced due to problems with batteries (requiring replacement) and the need to repair equipment. By 2011, these problems were overcome and the boats began to make long trips, including to the Red Sea.

However, today the basis of Iran’s submarine forces are SMPLs, intended mainly for operations in the Persian and Oman Gulfs. At the end of 2011, according to Rear Admiral Golam Reza Khadem-Bigham, there were 15 SMPLs of two projects in service: 14 Ghadir type (work has been underway since 2004, another three or four such SMPLs are at various stages of construction) and one Nahang type. The Ghadir-type SMPLs were created with technical assistance from the DPRK (development of Yugo-type boats). The total construction program of Iranian SMPLs can reach 30 units.

The leadership of the Iranian Navy especially emphasizes that the country was able to master the construction of SMPL from national components. However, most experts are skeptical about this, believing that if this was possible, then the technical level of the components corresponds to world analogues of the 70-80s of the last century.

All Iranian submarines will likely be equipped with a Shkval-type jet torpedo (the Iranian Navy successfully tested it on April 4, 2009). According to a representative of the Iranian command, this is the fastest torpedo in the world. Some experts claim that several samples were purchased by China in the CIS through Kyrgyzstan and then delivered to Iran.

Amphibious forces

The Navy has 9 tank landing ships (7 medium - STDK and 2 small - MTDC), 12 landing boats, six of which are hovercraft. There are long-term plans for the construction of three more STDKs.

Multi-role forces

KRV. The Navy has three Alvand (Vosper Mk 5) SAMs in service. They were ordered from the UK back in 1966 and underwent two modernizations - in 1977 and 1988. In 1997, the ships' Sea Killer anti-ship missile launchers were replaced with Chinese-made C-802 anti-ship missile launchers.

Iran independently built one KRV of this type, Jamaran, according to the existing technical documentation, to which some changes were made. In particular, a diesel unit (DU) was used instead of a diesel gas turbine unit (DGTU), and a runway for a helicopter was located in the stern. Construction is also underway on the second air conditioning station of this type, with a completion date of 2013.

In addition, the Navy includes two American-built corvettes, transferred by the United States to the Shah's regime under an assistance program in 1964. Despite their long service life, all RVs are actively used and are in good technical condition.

Patrol forces

RKA. As of the beginning of 2012, the Navy has 23 relatively large RSCs with a displacement of 200–275 tons. Ten boats of the Houdong type with S-802 anti-ship missiles were built in China, ten of the Combattante II type, mainly with S-802 anti-ship missiles, were built in France, and three more boats of this type were built in Iran. In addition, there are 35 small-displacement missiles of 10–14 tons with short-range anti-ship missiles or missile launchers, built with the help of China, the DPRK or independently.

PKA. At the beginning of 2012, there were a large number of UAVs (more than 150), mainly for patrol purposes, with a displacement from 1.5 to 170 tons. At the same time, three boats of the Kajami type are so-called semi-submersible, that is, they can move at shallow depths using an RDP type device (underwater engine operation). Similar projects were developed in the Soviet Union in the 60s, but were not implemented.

Iran, to a certain extent, follows the path of development of the Soviet Navy in the early 60s, when the USSR tried to create a “huge and invincible mosquito fleet.” To be fair, it should be noted that during the Gulf War, even the powerful carrier-based aircraft of the US Navy could not effectively fight the ultra-small UAVs of the Iranian Navy. Firing anti-ship missiles at them turned out to be impossible, and the use of cannons, conventional bombs and rocket launchers was also difficult due to the small size and high maneuverability of the boats.

Mine sweeping forces

Currently, the Iranian Navy does not have minesweepers (MS), but there are six minesweeper helicopters (HM) of the RH-53D type. The absence of ships of this class and even plans for their construction indicates that the command of the Iranian Navy during the war plans to use mainly boats and small submarines, for which mines pose less of a threat than for large ships.

Shipbuilding programs

Iran is now targeting the construction of the SMPL, the completion of one CRV and the construction of boats (RKA, PKA and DKA). Iranian Defense Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar, at the laying ceremony of a new midget submarine in 2008, said: “The Islamic Republic is becoming self-sufficient in the production of all types of military vessels.” He also especially noted the fact that this SMPL is equipped with a new underwater missile. According to him, the development of new weapons such as surface and underwater missiles will increase the defense capability of the fleet in Iran's territorial waters and prevent an attack on the country.

Most experts note that the Iranian military shipbuilding program basically copies a similar military shipbuilding program in North Korea. However, in the technological aspect, Iran lags behind the DPRK by 10–20 years, since its national shipbuilding industry is in its infancy.

Assessment of the military industrial base

The creation of missile and even nuclear weapons will not be able to provide Iran with a technological breakthrough in the field of military shipbuilding. And there are several reasons. For example, despite the complexity of creating missiles and nuclear weapons, their production, according to most experts, can currently only be based on a limited number of specialized enterprises.

That is, with a small series production it is possible to create them in pilot production. The creation of ships, naval weapons and aircraft equipment takes place in a large number of industries, and this requires a high technological level of development of the entire country.

A fundamentally new moment in the reform of Iran's military-industrial complex was the focus on the priority development of licensed production of technologically complex weapons.

In Bushehr, with the help of Chinese specialists, in the late 90s, work began on the licensed construction of two Hudong-class missile boats, or rather, their assembly from blocks supplied from China. At the shipyard in Bandar Abbas, with the help of specialists from the DPRK, the construction of the SMPL has been launched.

However, with all these successes there remains the main difficulty is the general technological backwardness of Iran. Although oil has been produced in the country for more than a hundred years, Iranians are still unable to carry out drilling operations without the help of foreign firms. Without foreign assistance, Iran cannot build oil refineries, which is why it is forced to import a third of the gasoline the country consumes. And this is in an oil exporting country that aspires to regional leadership.

That is why most experts believe that Iran does not yet have the scientific and technological base to independently create modern military equipment and it needs to start by training its own scientific and technical personnel. In this regard, it is likely that there will be a significant influx of specialists and teachers to Iran in the coming years. Experts also fear that a significant portion of those arriving will be brought into the country illegally.

In the event of hostilities, it is possible that irreparable damage could be caused to the Iranian shipbuilding industry by the United States and Israel, the consequences of which are unlikely to be compensated in the near future.

/Vladislav Nikolsky – Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor, Nikolay Novichkov – Candidate of Technical Sciences, vpk-news.ru/

Political background

It is quite difficult to estimate the possible timing of Iran obtaining nuclear weapons, but most experts believe that this will happen in the coming years. The former head of the Russian Ministry of Atomic Energy, Yevgeny Adamov, once noted that Iran could create nuclear weapons. “They have quite qualified people. Nuclear specialists studied in the West back in the times of the Shah,” he emphasized.

Navy development concept

Combat composition

Dynamics of changes in the combat strength of the Iranian Navy

Ship subclass	Number of people in 1998	Number for 2012	Projected population by 2020
NAPL	3	3	3
SMPL	-	15	>20
EM	2	no data	no data
KRV	5	6	4-5
RKA	11	48	23
PKA	139	>150	130
MTK	5	no data	no data
DK	9	9	12-15
DKA	8	12	22
NAPL - non-nuclear submarine SMPL - midget submarine EM – destroyer KRV - corvette RKA - missile boat PKA - patrol boat MTK - mine sweeping ship DK - landing ship DKA - landing boat

Submarine forces

NAPL. Currently, the Navy has three Russian-built Project 877EKM nuclear submarines in service. They are designed to solve combat missions mainly in the Indian Ocean, although in peacetime they actively demonstrate their combat capabilities in the Persian Gulf. According to some reports, these boats may soon be upgraded to use cruise missiles (CR) of the Club-S complex. In the early 2000s, the activity of Project 877EKM non-submarine submarines was reduced due to problems with batteries (requiring replacement) and the need to repair equipment. By 2011, these problems were overcome and the boats began to make long trips, including to the Red Sea.

All Iranian submarines will likely be equipped with a Shkval-type jet torpedo (the Iranian Navy successfully tested it on April 4, 2009). According to a representative of the Iranian command, this is the fastest torpedo in the world. Some experts claim that several samples of the Shkval torpedo were purchased by China in the CIS through Kyrgyzstan and then delivered to Iran.

Amphibious forces

The Navy has nine tank landing ships (seven medium - STDK and two small - MTDC), 12 landing boats, six of which are hovercraft. There are long-term plans for the construction of three more STDKs.

Multi-role forces

KRV. The Navy has three Alvand (Vosper Mk 5) SAMs in service. They were ordered from the UK back in 1966 and underwent two modernizations - in 1977 and 1988. In 1997, the ships' Sea Killer anti-ship missile launchers were replaced with Chinese-made C-802 anti-ship missile launchers. Iran independently built one KRV of this type, Jamaran, according to the existing technical documentation, to which some changes were made. In particular, a diesel unit (DU) was used instead of a diesel gas turbine unit (DGTU), and a runway for a helicopter was located in the stern. Construction is also underway on the second air conditioning station of this type, with a completion date of 2013.

Patrol forces

RKA. As of the beginning of 2012, the Navy has 23 relatively large RSCs with a displacement of 200–275 tons. Ten boats of the Houdong type with S-802 anti-ship missiles were built in China, ten of the Combattante II type, mainly with S-802 anti-ship missiles, were built in France, and three more boats of this type were built in Iran. In addition, there are 35 small-displacement missiles of 10–14 tons with short-range anti-ship missiles or missile launchers, built with the help of China, the DPRK or independently.

PKA. At the beginning of 2012, there were a large number of UAVs (more than 150), mainly for patrol purposes, with a displacement from 1.5 to 170 tons. At the same time, three boats of the Kajami type are so-called semi-submersible, that is, they can move at shallow depths using an RDP type device (underwater engine operation). Similar projects were developed in the Soviet Union in the 60s, but were not implemented.

Mine sweeping forces

Shipbuilding programs

Iran is now targeting the construction of the SMPL, the completion of one CRV and the construction of boats (RKA, PKA and DKA).

Iranian Defense Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar, at the laying ceremony of a new midget submarine in 2008, said: “The Islamic Republic is becoming self-sufficient in the production of all types of military vessels.” He also especially noted the fact that this SMPL is equipped with a new underwater missile. According to him, the development of new weapons such as surface and underwater missiles will increase the defense capability of the fleet in Iran's territorial waters and prevent an attack on the country.

Assessment of the military industrial base

The creation of missile and even nuclear weapons will not be able to provide Iran with a technological breakthrough in the field of military shipbuilding. And there are several reasons.

For example, despite the complexity of creating missiles and nuclear weapons, their production, according to most experts, can currently only be based on a limited number of specialized enterprises. That is, with a small series production it is possible to create them in pilot production. The creation of ships, naval weapons and aircraft equipment takes place in a large number of industries, and this requires a high technological level of development of the entire country.

A fundamentally new moment in the reform of Iran's military-industrial complex was the focus on the priority development of licensed production of technologically complex weapons.

Currently, the shipbuilding industry is represented by enterprises of the Shahid Dgalai industrial group. It consists of three shipyards (SSZ), located in the cities of Bandar Abbas, Bushehr and Anzali, which have experience in construction, including the assembly under foreign licenses and with the help of other countries of landing ships, patrol and landing boats (with a displacement of up to 90 tons), as well as auxiliary vessels. In Bushehr, with the help of Chinese specialists, in the late 90s, work began on the licensed construction of two Hudong-class missile boats, or rather, their assembly from blocks supplied from China. At the shipyard in Bandar Abbas, with the help of specialists from the DPRK, the construction of the SMPL has been launched.

However, despite all these successes, the main difficulty remains - Iran's general technological backwardness. Although oil has been produced in the country for more than a hundred years, Iranians are still unable to carry out drilling operations without the help of foreign firms. Without foreign assistance, Iran cannot build oil refineries, which is why it is forced to import a third of the gasoline consumed by the country. And this is in an oil exporting country that aspires to regional leadership.

That is why most experts believe that Iran does not yet have the scientific and technological base to independently create modern military equipment and it needs to start by training its own scientific and technical personnel. In this regard, it is likely that in the coming years there will be a significant influx of specialists and teachers into Iran. Experts also fear that a significant portion of those arriving will be brought into the country illegally.

plutong> Something from the past (food for thought):
plutong> Millennium Challenge 2002
plutong> Despite the fictitious names of both sides, it was clear that the game scenario was a veiled exercise to invade Iran...
plutong> One of the scenario descriptions
plutong> http://alternathistory.org.ua/...
plutong> Well, from modern comments on this teaching:
plutong> ...in a real war with Iran in the Persian Gulf, without the use of nuclear weapons, the United States would be defeated...
plutong> ...if it comes to a war in the Persian Gulf, or even in the Gulf of Oman, the impressive naval power of the United States will be countered and hampered by both Iran's military potential and geographical factors. Without the ability to operate in open waters like the Indian or Pacific Oceans, the United States would have much less time to respond and, more importantly, would not be able to fight from a safe military distance. Thus, the entire arsenal of US defensive naval systems designed to fight in open waters from a safe distance will not be applicable in the Persian Gulf.
plutong> __404__ | sh404SEF custom content

The AUG does not have to swim into the bay; at the beginning, the Iranian Navy and the southeastern part of Iran can bomb from a safe distance (the Arabian Sea) for the AUG. And the western part will be taken over by Israel and US air units stationed in Iraq, plus Turkey and various Arab countries friendly with the US (which Iran threatens to sink tankers in the Gulf of Hormuz).

I took 1000 km, the maximum range of AUG aviation.

And since the United States decided to launch an AUG into the Gulf, it means a decision has been made to resolve the issue diplomatically.

So in any case, the main threat to the AUG comes from our Halibut diesel-electric submarines.

By the way, in the simulator I tried to approach the AUG on a Halibut (of course, under favorable conditions like I ended up on their course, since the AUG has a speed of 17 knots, the Halibut simply couldn’t keep up with them and I had to set the maximum speed at which you unmask yourself for the buoys scattered by security helicopters). In general, it was possible to approach them at a distance of 3-5 miles, then the guards of the destroyers discovered me and easily sank me. It is practically impossible to torpedo an AUG. Only in 10% of attacks was it possible to cause minor damage to the AUG or guards; of course, the submarine was then sunk in 100% of cases.
On the same simulator, anti-ship missiles with a speed of 0.7-0.8M perform very poorly. The destroyers OrlikBerke and Ticonderoga, which are guarding the aircraft carrier, easily shoot down these missiles.