The Principles of Persia: what Russia can learn from the experience of the Iranian Navy
On Sunday, March 9, a detachment of ships of the Pacific Fleet consisting of the corvettes Hero of the Russian Federation Aldar Tsydenzhapov and Sharp, as well as the tanker Pechenga, arrives in the Iranian port of Chehbehar. He will take part in the trilateral naval exercise "Maritime Security Belt - 2025", which will be held in the waters of the northern Indian Ocean from March 10 to 13. Izvestia looked into what the Iranian Navy is today, and what the experience of their construction might be of interest to Russia.
Warships and multifunctional vessels
Iran's military machine consists of two components — the army proper and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Each of them has its own naval forces. These Navies consist of districts and brigades, and include units of the Marine Corps, special forces, and coast guard. The Army Navy has naval aviation, and the IRGC Navy includes several coastal missile brigades. The IRGC Navy is responsible for the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz. The Army's naval forces are responsible for operations in both the Caspian Sea, the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean.
The Army's Navy is based on the Mowj type frigates. They represent a striking reverse engineering project, because initially such ships were built for the Iranian Navy in the UK during the Shah's period. Nevertheless, this is an extremely successful project for a small warship with a displacement of 1,500 tons, a length of 95 m and a width of 11.1 m. The ship is armed with anti-ship (Noor or Ghader) and anti-aircraft (Mehrab) missile systems, carries a 76-mm cannon and six 324-mm torpedo tubes. A helicopter or a UAV can be based on it. Recently, complexes for launching kamikaze drones have been deployed on these ships. In total, taking into account the ships built in England, the Navy has seven such frigates. Moreover, the Cheshm Oghab multifunctional radar complex with an integrated mast is observed on the last commissioned ship Deylaman.
Iran's shipbuilding industry is not capable of producing larger warships or auxiliary vessels. In this regard, Iranian craftsmen have found very interesting, even creative solutions, namely, to modernize and rebuild large civilian vessels for naval tasks. Several such ships are known to exist.
So, on February 5 of this year, the IRGC Navy replenished the very interesting multifunctional ship Shahid Bahman Bagheri. This carrier of drones, helicopters, boats, as well as various marine drones was converted from a container ship with a length of 240 m and a width of 32 m. A 180-meter-long corner deck was attached to it, equipped with a diving board and aerial finders. The ship also has lapels for launching boats (up to 30 pieces), hangars (up to 60 drones) and airplane power lifts. In addition to them, a variety of missile (both anti-ship and anti-aircraft) and artillery weapons are deployed. Interestingly, there are drones and traditional ship-based take-off vehicles.
Other similar vessels include, for example, the Shahid Mahdavi floating base. It is a multipurpose ship with a displacement of 41 thousand tons, a length of 240 m and a width of 32 m. The floating base has artillery installations and missile systems, both long-range anti-ship (300-750 km) and anti-aircraft. The Shahid Mahdavi is capable of carrying various light boats and speedboats, UAVs, kamikaze drones and helicopters. In February 2024, Iran demonstrated the launch of two container-designed Dizful ballistic missiles with a firing range of up to 1,000 km from this base.
The Makran floating base, converted from a tanker, was accepted into the Iranian Army Navy in 2021. Its length is 230 m, width 42 m, displacement 121 thousand tons. The base is equipped with a platform for several helicopters and UAVs for vertical takeoff and landing, places for basing light boats and a crane for launching and lifting them onto the deck, etc. There are facilities for storing various stocks and supplies, allowing Makran to stay at sea autonomously for at least 1,000 days, and also to ensure the operation of five warships for three months.
The arrival of such bases in the Navy made it possible for Iran to make long-range trips, which was not the case before. So in 2021, the Sahand frigate and the Makran base visited St. Petersburg. In 2022-2023, the Makran floating base and the Dena frigate completed the first circumnavigation of the world in the history of the Iranian Navy, covering a distance of 35,100 nautical miles in 236 days. Iranian Leader Ayatollah Khamenei commented on this issue as follows: "The fact that a team of 350 people traveled 65,000 km around the Earth, staying on the water for about eight months, is one of the great things that are considered unique in the world. You have crossed the expanses of three oceans and returned to your homeland with pride."
The Navy of the Army and the IRGC have other units equipped on the basis of cargo ships, and other vessels are being refitted.
Another interesting project of theirs, which replenishes the IRGC Navy, is the Shahid Suleimani-type missile catamarans. In February 2025, the fourth such trimaran-type ship joined the fleet. It has a displacement of about 600 tons, a length of 67 m and a width of 20 m, develops a maximum speed of 32 knots and has a range of 5,000 nautical miles.
The catamaran is literally packed with missiles: a total of 12 launchers for Ghadir, Nasir and other types of anti-ship and cruise missiles, as well as 16 launchers for Sayyed anti-aircraft types. The ship also has artillery systems, runways for helicopters or UAVs, as well as a hangar and a launching device for three high-speed boats.
Other ships are also being built for the Iranian Navy. Not so long ago, the first Iranian specialized reconnaissance ship Zagros joined the fleet. Small and ultra-small submarines are also being built for both navies.
Combat boats
Small-displacement combat boats are being built in dozens, and possibly hundreds: for example, the new Haidar 110 type boat has a length of 14 m and a width of 4.3 m. Its cruising range is 350 nautical miles, maximum speed is 110 knots, and it is armed with two medium-range cruise missiles.
The Tariq boat has a length of 13 m, a width of 3.8 m, a speed of 90 knots, and a range of 500 nautical miles. It is equipped with two medium-range missiles.
The Somar boat is built using carbon fiber, has a length of 16 m, and reaches a speed of 80 knots. Other types of boats are also under construction, including boats equipped with air defense systems.
The IRGC Navy relies on the use of a large number of high—speed combat boats armed with various types of guided missiles in case of hostilities in the Strait of Hormuz. A massive attack by flocks of such boats with the support of drones and cruise anti-ship missiles is capable of overloading the defense system of a potential enemy and causing unacceptable damage to it.
In addition to attack boats, the Navy of the Army and the IRGC also have anti-aircraft, amphibious, and special purpose boats. Frankly speaking, such units would look good for operations in the Northwestern part of the Black Sea and in the Dnieper-Bug Estuary.
Drones, underwater vehicles, and cruise missiles
It is no exaggeration to say that Iran occupies one of the leading positions in the world in terms of the development and production of robotic systems and cruise missiles of various types. The range of such systems is wide. At the same time, drones are already being installed on warships, for example, on the Alborz frigate: 12 Shahin-1 kamikaze drone launchers are installed. And Mohajer-6 reconnaissance and attack UAVs can operate from the deck of the Shahid Bagheri drone carrier.
The use of the 333-mm MLRS Fair-5 for remote mining of the waters of the Persian Gulf became interesting. The missiles of this system are equipped with sea mines. Given the availability of similar-caliber MLRS systems in Russia, the development of such domestic methods of setting minefields is of great interest.
But recently, Iran has begun to demonstrate underwater vehicles. In particular, a drone launch from underwater was recently shown, which opens up new prospects in the field of naval warfare. Earlier, Iran demonstrated underwater sea drones "Homa" and "Pelican" at exhibitions. An unmanned underwater vehicle ROV capable of detecting, recognizing and destroying sea mines was also presented.
IRGC Underground Bases
In January-February 2025, the IRGC demonstrated some of its underground bases, literally packed with combat boats and various types of naval weapons. For example, one of them is located on the coast of the Persian Gulf at a depth of about 500 m from the surface, hides dozens of small combat boats in its tunnels and has several exits to the sea surface. Another base is designed to accommodate mobile installations of coastal missile systems. In particular, during its demonstration, the Ghadr-380 anti-ship missile with a claimed firing range of 1,000 km was shown.
Such facilities greatly enhance the survival of Iran's forces, especially in the event of a surprise attack. It is worth considering the revival of underground shelters for our Navy. If necessary, some of the nuclear submarines can be hidden in such shelters and thus ensure the guaranteed possibility of a retaliatory strike on enemy territory.
Iran has created its own military industry since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, with engineers making a variety of advanced weapons systems. Including for the Navy, the Army and the IRGC. At the same time, one should not forget that Iran is under powerful sanctions, including UN bans on military-technical cooperation. The Iranian Navy and IRGC are actively equipping themselves with new equipment, and the sailors of these fleets are improving their level of combat and naval training.
And Russia has a lot to learn from this ancient country.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
