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Iran Inaugurates First-Ever Drone Carrier Warship In Persian Gulf
Manned by the elite paramilitary Revolutionary Guard's navy (IRGC), the vessel is dubbed Shahid Bagheri, and is further capable of launching cruise missiles.
Iran's military and media is touting that the ship is able to travel "independently" across the globe's oceans for up to one year, and it can go up to 22,000 nautical miles without needing to refuel in ports.
The vessel began its life as a commercial ship, and was overhauled and completely re-outfitted for as a drone carrier.
"The Revolutionary Guards took action to transform a commercial ship… into a mobile naval platform capable of carrying out drone and helicopter missions in the oceans," said Navy Commander of the Revolutionary Guards Alireza Tangsiri.
"The addition of this ship to our fleet is an important step in increasing the defense and deterrence capability of Iran in distant waters and in maintaining our national security interests," Tangsiri added.
State IRNA has touted that the carrier has a capacity of carrying 60 drones. A state TV broadcast unveiling the Shahid Bagheri showed at least four helicopters and three UAVs on the warship's runway at the time of the footage.
Tehran officials are further hailing it as the "largest naval military project" in the history of the Islamic Republic.
State media footage featuring the drone carrier in action...
Chief of the Guard's navy Adm. Ali Reza Tangsiri described that the project to transform a commercial vessel into a drone warship took over two years, and that it even features a hospital and gym for the crew.
Some military analysts in the West have criticized that Iran's drone arsenal mainly consists of much bigger drones, and that the released footage seems to feature smaller RC jet planes.
In that sense, it would indeed be a lot of fun to launch RC planes off this thing...
It is joining the IRGC fleet in the Persian Gulf, and is now sailing after last year's major Iranian attack on Israel using ballistic missiles and drones. Small drone warfare is becoming increasingly prominent in hotspots around the world.
For example, Russia heavily relies on Iranian suicide drones during attacks on Ukrainian cities - something which the West has fiercely condemned.