Iran Launches First Domestically Made Destroyer
This past Friday, Iran’s Navy took the delivery of the first indigenously designed and developed guided missile destroyer Jamaran in the presence of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.
The Mowdge Class vessel has a displacement of around 1,420 tonnes and is equipped with modern radars and electronic warfare capabilities.
Jamaran, a multi-mission destroyer, can carry 120-140 personnel on board and is armed with a variety of anti-ship and surface-to-air missiles. It has a top speed of up to 30 knots and has a helipad. It also features highly advanced anti-aircraft, anti-surface and anti-subsurface systems. The vessel has also been equipped with torpedoes and modern naval cannons.
The destroyer’s launch marks a major technological leap for Iran’s naval industries. Iran said that the manufacture of Jamaran and the missile boat Paykan were among the greatest achievements of the Iranian Navy and the destroyer’s launch marks a major technological leap for Iran’s naval industries. More ships in its class are under construction.
State television also showed footage of the vessel and the ceremony at which it was launched by Khamenei flanked by the top Iranian military commanders.
Much of Iran’s naval equipment dates from before the 1979 Islamic revolution and is U.S. made. Since the revolution, Tehran has purchased a number of Russian-made submarines.
In the past year Iranian navy has carried out a number of missions in the Gulf of Aden and offshore Somalia where it was commissioned to escort Iranian merchant ships and oil tankers.
Tehran is enriching uranium, which many Western countries and Israel fear is a step toward manufacturing an atomic bomb. Tehran rejects such charges, saying its nuclear program is entirely peaceful. On Thursday, the U.N. atomic watchdog expressed concern that Iran might have been trying to develop a nuclear warhead. On Feb. 19, Iran dismissed the concern as “baseless.”
Iran is under U.N. sanctions for failing to obey Security Council resolutions demanding that it halt enrichment. Neither the United States nor Israel have ruled out military action if it does not eventually do so.
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