Shahid Roudaki (Persian: شهید رودکی) is a warship operated by the Navy of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran that is capable of carrying aircraft, missile launchers and drones.
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Iran | |
| Name | Shahid Roudaki |
| Namesake | Abdollah Roudaki |
| Operator | Navy of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps |
| Commissioned | 19 November 2020 |
| Homeport | Bandar Abbas |
| Identification |
|
| Status | In active service |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement | 12,000 t (12,000 long tons; 13,000 short tons) |
| Length | 150 m (492 ft 2 in) |
| Beam | 22 m (72 ft 2 in) |
| Armament |
|
| Aircraft carried | Able to carry different types of helicopters (e.g. Bell-412) and different types of drones. |
| Aviation facilities | Helicopter landing deck |
History
editShahid Roudaki was commissioned into service on 19 November 2020 in a ceremony attended by Major General Hossein Salami and Commander Alireza Tangsiri, commanders of the IRGC and its naval forces respectively.[1] In line with the naming convention of the IRGC she is named after Vice-admiral Abdullah Roudaki, a martyr (Shahid) and commander of the IRGCN who was assassinated.[2]
Previous service
editJeremy Binnie of Jane's Defence Weekly stated that it is likely that she is the former Galaxy F, an Italian-built cargo ship launched in 1992.[3] H. I. Sutton maintains that "we cannot say for certain, at this stage, that it is her. But Galaxy F is a strong candidate and even if not, the design is essentially identical".[4]
Following such reports, the Italian MP Antonio Zennaro (a member of the Parliamentary Committee for the Security of the Republic) filed a formal interrogation addressing the Italian government, asking it to verify if Shahid Roudaki really was Galaxy F and—if that were the case—if the ship had been sold to the Iranians in contravention to international sanctions against dual-use technology.[5][6]
Description
editChinese news agency Xinhua has described Shahid Roudaki as a light fleet carrier.[7] Thomas Newdick opines that it is a former roll-on/roll-off ship modified for military purposes, and compares it to the MV Ocean Trader or a much smaller version of the Expeditionary Mobile Base concept.[2]
She displaces 12,000 tonnes and is 150 m (492 ft 2 in) long, with a beam of 22 m (72 ft 2 in), according to a statement released by public relations office of the IRGC.[7]
Armament
editIt is equipped with one 23 mm (0.91 in) anti-aircraft gun and several heavy machine guns.[8] The vessel is capable of carrying helicopters and multiple armament on her deck, including drones and missiles.[9] She is equipped with 3D phased-array radar, anti-ship missiles and electronic warfare systems.[7] The vessel functions as a mothership to smaller vessels, as well as a platform for launching unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV).[7] In the footage of commissioning ceremony, a Bell 412 helicopter, four speedboats, six Ababil-2 drones, a Sevom Khordad TELAR and eight anti-ship cruise missiles in four twin container launchers (possibly of Ghader or Ghadir type) were spotted on her deck.[2] According to H. I. Sutton, it would be unlikely for the IRGC to use the ship with such a formation of equipment in future operations because they were showcasing the asymmetrical roles and potential capability of Shahid Roudaki in the commissioning ceremony.[8]
Shahid Roudaki along with the similar Shahid Mahdavi mothership are able to be armed with Fateh-class ballistic missile containers such as Dezful.[10]
References
edit
- ^ Hafezi, Parisa; Barrington, Lisa (19 November 2020), Mark Heinrich (ed.), "Iran's Guards launch aircraft carrier-scale warship amid tensions with U.S. - TV", Reuters, retrieved 19 November 2020
- ^ a b c Newdick, Thomas (19 November 2020), "Iran Unveils Its New Sea Base Warship That Looks Like A Floating Arms Bazaar", The Drive, retrieved 19 November 2020
- ^ Frantzman, Seth J. (21 November 2020), "Iran has a new warship packed with drones and missiles", The Jerusalem Post, retrieved 21 November 2020
- ^ Sutton, H.I. (21 November 2020), "Iranian IRGC Forward Base Shahid Roudaki", Covert Shores, retrieved 21 November 2020
- ^ "The mystery of the Iranian warship that was an Italian cargo". Formiche.net. 2020-11-27. Retrieved 2020-11-29.
- ^ "Di Maio e Conte, l'interrogazione sulla nave italiana finita alla Marina militare iraniana: servizi segreti in allerta (Di Maio and Conte, the interrogation on the Italian ship that ended up in the Iranian Navy: secret services on alert)". Libero Quotidiano (in Italian). Milan. 2 December 2020. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
- ^ a b c d "Iran's IRGC navy commissions new multifunctional warship", Xinhua, 19 November 2020, retrieved 19 November 2020
- ^ a b Sutton, H.I. (19 November 2020), "VIDEO: Iran Inducts New Special Operations Ship", USNI News, retrieved 19 November 2020
- ^ Sykes, Patrick (19 November 2020), "Iran Aims for Naval Presence Beyond Persian Gulf With New Ship", Bloomberg, retrieved 19 November 2020
- ^ "IRGC Warship Fires Long-Range Ballistic Missile - Politics news". Tasnim News Agency. Retrieved 2024-02-14.