Iran has unveiled trimaran warship design Safineh guided missile destroyer project


On November 30, 2019, the Iranian Navy has unveiled new military achievements produced locally including a new Trimaran warship design under the "Safineh" guided-missile destroyer project. According to our first analysis, the ship has a design similar to U.S. Navy Independence-class littoral combat ship.


Iran has unveiled trimaran warship design Safineh guided missile destroyer project 925 001 Scale model of the new Iranian-made  Safineh-class guided-missile destroyer project. (Picture source MEHR News Agency)


In December 2018, FARS news Iranian press agency has released a drawing of the new Iranian-made Trimaran destroyer.

According to a first technical review released on the Internet by Global Security, the ship has a displacement of 3,000 tons and a speed of 40+ knots. It is equipped with a 96-unit vertical launch system into the forward deck, 4 Kamand close defense systems, and a 57/76 mm main gun.

The warship also has a large deck with dual hangars, twice as big as a single-hull vessel of the same tonnage, and it can carry all types of helicopters operating in the Iranian Navy.

The helicopter deck of the Safineh-class guided-missile destroyer is very large compared to the various types of combat vessels in active service with the Iranian Navy. It uses a trimaran design and is propelled by a set of 4 water jets. Also, low hydrodynamic resistance in high speed and a floating propulsion system appropriate to the needed corresponding dimensions and speed are among other features of Safineh.

The Safineh-class is also equipped with Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) Radar. The AESA is a more advanced, sophisticated, second-generation of the original PESA phased array technology. PESAs can only emit a single beam of radio waves at a single frequency at a time. The AESA can radiate multiple beams of radio waves at multiple frequencies simultaneously. AESA radars can spread their signal emissions across a wider range of frequencies, which makes them more difficult to detect over background noise, allowing ships and aircraft to radiate powerful radar signals while still remaining stealthy.


Iran has unveiled trimaran warship design Safineh guided missile destroyer project 925 002
The Independence-class littoral combat ship USS Jackson (LCS 6) arrives in Portland for Rose Festival Fleet Week, on June 2017. (Picture source US Navy)