Iran unveils new submarine equipped with cruise missiles
Iran unveiled a state-of-the-art domestically-built submarine capable of firing cruise missiles during a ceremony on Sunday. The inaugural ceremony, attended by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, was held in the southern port city of Bandar Lengeh in Hormuzgan Province.
“Our defense power is solely defensive… Our enemy’s pressure and sanctions imposed on Iran have instigated our progress,” Rouhani said at the ceremony.
Fateh, with a 100-percent domestically-sourced technology, can operate more than 200 meters below the sea surface for nearly five weeks, according to Press TV.
Iran’s first semi-heavy submarine is capable of carrying and firing cruise missiles that could be launched from a submerged position.
The 527-ton submarine is also equipped with state-of-the-art weaponry, including torpedoes and naval mines.
Fateh is also outfitted with a guidedmissile system and an advanced sonic radar system, which can identify enemy vessels.
Late in November 2018, two Ghadirclass submarines capable of launching subsurface-to-surface missiles, torpedoes and mines joined Iran’s naval fleet.
The Ghadir-class submarines are designed to cruise within the shallow waters of the Persian Gulf to ensure peace and security of Iran’s maritime borders.
Iran has so far launched different classes of domestically-built advanced submarines, including Ghadir, Qaem, Nahang, Tareq and Sina.
In comments at the unveiling ceremony, Iran’s Defense Minister Brigadier General Amir Hatami said Iran’s success to make such an advanced submarine has a message for regional nations that “the region enjoys the necessary capacities to ensure its security without the need for the ultra-regional hegemonic powers,” Tasnim News Agency reported.
“The Fateh is an entirely homegrown submarine that is designed and developed by experts of the Defense Ministry and is equipped with the world’s modern technologies,” Hatami said on Saturday.
The Fateh is the latest addition to Iran’s fleet of submarines, which was first launched about 20 years ago.
The commander-in-chief of the Iranian Navy, Rear Admiral Hossein Khanzadi, has been quoted as saying that the Fateh submarine will be used to carry out a mission in the Oman Sea.
Iranian military experts and technicians have in recent years made great headway in manufacturing a broad range of indigenous equipment, making the armed forces self-sufficient in the arms sphere.