Iran building more submarines

A still taken from Iranian television news shows Major General Mohammad Bagheri (centre) standing in front of what appear to be two submarine hulls during a visit to Shahid Darvishi Industries. (Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting)

The chief of staff of the Iranian Armed Forces was shown with what appeared to be the hulls of two new submarines when he visited the Islamic Republic's primary naval shipyard on 13 May.

The Iranian media reported that Major General Mohammad Bagheri visited Shahid Darvishi Industries, which is the naval shipyard next to the Iran Shipbuilding & Offshore Industries Company (ISOICO) near Bostanu, 25 km southwest of Bandar Abbas' harbour.

The apparent hulls were seen behind Maj Gen Bagheri as he spoke to camera inside the construction shed at the shipyard. Having referred to the experience the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy (IRIN) has gained with its current submarines, he said that “new models are being built with significant improvements”.

Seen from the rear, the hulls appeared to be approximately the same diameter as the one used for Fateh , the largest Iranian-built submarine, but were far from complete. Launched in 2013 and commissioned into service by the IRIN in February 2019, Fateh reportedly displaces 593 tonnes when submerged and has an endurance of 35 days.

Maj Gen Bagheri was also shown walking past a Ghadir-class mini-submarine, one of the IRIN's three Kilo-class submarines, and possibly a second Ghadir that was also in the construction shed.

The armed forces chief visited both the IRIN and Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Navy bases in Bandar Abbas on the previous day. At the latter facility he was shown inspecting Sahand