The
Iranian Navy dispatched the 16th flotilla of its warships, including
Jamaran, to the Northern Indian Ocean after the 15th flotilla, comprising
Alvand and Bushehr Frigates, came back home.
Iran's first home-made "destroyer" (actually closer to a light
Frigate in size), Jamaran, was launched in late February 2010. The Mowdge
Class vessel has a displacement of around 14,000 tons (exerpts report
it to be merely 1,400 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).
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Last month, the Iranian
Navy mounted a very highly advanced radar on Jamaran.
According to Iranian commanders, "Jamaran has been equipped with
a kind of radar that is among the highly advanced ones in the world".
Deputy Commander of the Iranian Navy for Research and Self-sufficiency
Jihad Capitan Mansour Maqsoudlou told reporters in September that "the
new radar system mounted on Jamaran is a semi-conductor radar with Fuzzy
arranged flat antennas (flat slotted array antennas)".
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.
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