IRGC Navy Commander: Iran to Build Speedboats Cruising at 80 Knots

Speaking to reporters in the Southern port city of Bandar Abbas and on the sidelines of a ceremony to unveil new speedboats for rescue missions, Fadavi said the IRGC has the only Navy in the world that could design and manufacture this type of boats cruising at 80 knots (148 kilometers) per hour.

He said similar boats for other navies could only cruise at 35 knots per hour while the IRGC’s cruise rusie at 60 knots.

Fadavi had said earlier this year that anti-ship cruise missiles and cannons were previously not available on speedboats, but the IRGC experts managed to mount them on the vessels.

He added that the military vessels, capable of cruising at the speed of up to 120 knots (222 kilometers) an hour, could now be designed and tested at the IRGC naval research laboratory. In the past, he said, Iran had to carry out such tests abroad.

The IRGC commander said the Navy plans to mass produce, within the next few months, speedboats that travel at a speed of 80 knots (148 kilometers) per hour, and are armed with missiles capable of striking targets at 100 kilometers (62 miles).

Last year, the IRGC equipped its speedboats with domestically designed and manufactured Ghader (Capable) anti-ship cruise missiles. Iran unveiled the home-made Ghader missile back in September 2011.