As reported by Tasnim News Agency, three new military vessels joined the fleet of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy on Monday, September 5, including a patrol combat warship equipped with air defense missiles with a vertical launching system. The IRGC Navy took delivery of the new warships in a ceremony in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas on Monday.
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Martyr Soleimani warship is a multi-hulled watercraft that can carry helicopters. It can also unload various strike speedboats and VTOL drones in the sea (Picture source: Tasnim)
The locally designed vessels include an advanced patrol combat warship named after Lt. General Qassem Soleimani, and two missile-launching speedboats named after IRGC Navy martyrs Rouhi and Dara. Martyr Soleimani warship is a multi-hulled watercraft that can carry helicopters. It can also unload various strike speedboats and VTOL drones in the sea. In comments at the event, Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Hossein Baqeri said the patrol combat warship is the first Iranian military vessel equipped with air defense missiles with a vertical launching system that can fire mid- and short-range missiles.
The warship’s hull material employs stealth technology construction techniques with a low radar cross-section, the commander noted, noting that it can navigate in the oceans and rough seas for various operations. Furnished with four powerful homegrown engines, martyr Soleimani warship can carry out long-range naval missions without coastal logistics, he added.
Last month, The IRGC commander said the IRGC Navy has been instructed to bolster its presence in remote waters. Major General Hossein Salami said the IRGC Navy is emerging as a massive force in the Strait of Hormuz, the Persian Gulf and beyond.
Highlighting the IRGC Navy’s superiority over the enemies, the commander said a range of weapons, including advanced missiles, highly stable vessels and various sea-based equipment, coupled with true faith of the servicemen, have made the IRGC Navy an invincible force.
In November 2020, the IRGC Navy unveiled plans to dispatch a flotilla of military vessels, including its first oceangoing warship, to the northern parts of the Indian Ocean. The IRGC’s oceangoing warship, 150 meters in length and weighing 4,000 tons, is a multipurpose vessel for long-range operations. It is furnished with missiles, air defense systems, and radars.
