Iran says it has added two mini submarines to its naval fleet
TEHRAN: Iran’s navy has acquired two new mini submarines designed for
operations in shallow waters such as the Arabian Gulf, the Iranian state
TV reported on Thursday.
The report said one of the mini submarines — also known as midget
submarines — was dubbed Ghadir-955 and was built in 18 months. The
other, a previously built Ghadir-942, took 10 months to overhaul.
The subs have sonar-evading technology and can launch missiles from
under water, as well as fire torpedoes and drop marine mines, the TV
said. Iran began manufacturing Ghadir subs in 2005. The first was
unveiled in 2007 and by 2012, five such submarines were incorporated
into Iran’s navy.
Midget submarines weigh less than 150 metric tons and are used for short
missions, with no living accommodations for a crew of up to nine.
The TV broadcast footage of the inauguration of one the submarine in
southern port of Bandar Abbas, at the mouth of the strategic Strait of
Hormuz, the passageway for nearly a third of all oil traded by sea.
At the ceremony, Adm. Mojtaba Mohammadi said the sub is the 14th
Iran-made vessel that joined the navy. Iran does not disclose the total
number of submarines in its fleet. However, it is believed to have some
12 light and three Russian-made submarines.
Iran, which has been developing its own tanks, armored personnel
carriers, missiles and fighter planes as a part of an arms development
program initiative since 1992, often boasts of new achievements or
acquisitions that cannot dependently be verified.
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