Official: Iran’s New Submarine Equipped with Subsurface-to-Surface Missiles, Ready for Export

“The submarine has in the past 10 days been equipped with subsurface-to-surface missiles and enjoys a good anti-surface capability,” General Rastegari said on Sunday.

He also added that a home-made torpedo, Valfajr, mounted on the submarine enjoys a destruction power 6 times more than a cruise missile and can drown a 1,000-ton vessel into the sea in less than 10 seconds.

General Rastegari said that Iran is capable of mass-producing and exporting Qadir submarines, adding, “Some of the friendly states are in negotiations with us to design submarines for them as well.”

He said that a unique periscope has also been mounted on Qadir submarine, noting that a number of industrial countries have demanded to purchase this periscope and optical system from Iran.

Iran has made major achievements in manufacturing different weapons and military equipment.

Two new indigenized Qadir-class submarines joined the Iranian Naval fleet in the Southern waters of the Persian Gulf last Thursday.

The submarines which are capable of launching subsurface-to-surface missiles, torpedoes and mines were unveiled during a ceremony at the Southern Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas.

Iran’s Navy Commander Rear Admiral Hossein Khanzadi attended the ceremony which was held on the occasion of the Navy Day.

The Qadir-class submarines are designed to cruise within the shallow waters of the Persian Gulf to ensure peace and security of Iran’s maritime borders.

Also, on Saturday, Iran delivered its most advanced home-made destroyer, Sahand, to the naval forces in the Persian Gulf.

Sahand destroyer was launched in Bandar Abbas port city in a ceremony participated by Iran’s army commander, navy commander and deputy defense minister.

The Iranian Navy announced late 2013 that it planned to equip its (then) under-construction Sahand destroyer with more advanced weapons and electronic war systems than its first generation destroyer, Jamaran.

“The first feature of Sahand is that its radar-evading capability has increased up to 30% and the form of its hull makes its detection by radars more difficult,” Head of the Self-Sufficiency Jihad of the Iranian Navy Rear Admiral Ali Qolamzadeh told FNA at the time.

He said that the volume of Sahand’s store, deposit and stock rooms have increased in a way that it can continue sailing distances twice farther than what Jamaran could traverse.

“Also the number of its radar and weapons system has at least been doubled and new electronic war systems have been mounted on it,” Qolamzadeh said.

He said that the Navy will also mount its new long-range phased-array radar system, named ‘Asr’, on Sahand if no newer radar system is made in the country until the destroyer is prepared for mission.

The destroyer is also able to journey across the faraway oceans for 150 days along with a logistic vessel.

Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei in a meeting with the Navy officials and commanders last Wednesday said that delivering Sahand destroyer and Fateh and Qadir submarines to the Naval forces heralded possibility for further progress.