Iran Press/ Iran News: The "Makran" ship joined the naval fleet of the Army of the Islamic Republic of Iran on 13 Jan and operated in the "Eqtedar 99" naval drills on the shores of Makran and the North Indian Ocean.
Introduction:
However, to realize the strategic element of this force, it is vital to have the power projection, that is, the ability to use military capability and conduct naval operations in remote areas.
To achieve this goal, it is necessary to have large vessels called "logistics ships" that can provide long-range operations, both logistically and in terms of combat equipment. Logistics ships act as a mobile naval base and are part of the key infrastructure supporting forces and equipment deployed at sea.
Improvement of Iran's maritime capability
By hiring Makran long warship, the Navy of the Islamic Republic of Iran has acquired a multi-purpose vessel and, of course, the largest military vessel in West Asian countries, increasing its military balance to deepen its strategic capabilities.
Makran logistic ship is the first helicopter carrier in Iran and one of the newest vessels of the Army of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which was built and equipped with the modernization of an oil tanker and joined the Iranian Navy in January 2021.
According to Admiral Khanzadi, Commander of the Navy, the Makran logistic ship was built to support and prevent the return of 5,000 to 6,000 kilometers of the navy to safe ports to provide the necessary items.
The Makran logistic ship is responsible for supporting naval combat fleets in international and remote waters, particularly in the North Indian Ocean, Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, and the Red Sea.
Makran logistic ship features
In Makran logistic ship, according to the needs of the Iranian Navy, the former tankers' capacity has been maintained, and only a small change has been made to transport fuel, water, and food. The ability to carry 80,000 tons of fuel and 20,000 tons of water allows the Makran logistic ship to travel around the globe in 93 days and have this capability up to 10 times without going to shore.
The main change in the Makran logistic ship compared to the base tanker is the addition of a place for the helicopter to land and take off in the front half of the deck, which covers about one-third of the length of the ship and is about 90 meters wide.
This wide deck allows them to deploy 5 helicopters simultaneously and turn on the engine and get ready to take off at the same time. The combination of helicopters stationed in this logistic ship can include 2 "Bell 212" helicopters, 2 "C King" helicopters, and one "RH 53 DC Stallion" helicopter.
The Makran logistic ship can support special forces operations and missile operations by using deminer, anti-submarine, and surface combat helicopters. A heavy crane has also been installed for Makran port ship missions in the middle of the deck and at a distance from the helicopter landing deck.
In addition to the two missile container launch pads, six positions of defensive artillery and various electronic warfare systems have been installed on Makran, which are very valuable in today's modern battlefield.
In addition to electronic reconnaissance and support systems manufactured by the country's defense industry, X-band marine radars and marine telecommunication systems can also be seen on the Makran logistic ship structure.
Equipped with a variety of up-to-date information collection systems, this longship can carry out a mission in the role of a data-gathering ship and collect, process, and analyze information and provide it to command and control centers on the coast from miles away.
The type and number of missiles deployed on the Makran logistic ship have not been determined yet, but the method of deploying the missile container is the first to be seen on Iranian military vessels.
Ghadir long-range missiles with a range of 300 and Abu-Mahdi with a range of more than 1000 km are the main possible options for anti-ship missiles in the Makran logistic ship.
Four speedboats with a capacity of 12 people and equipped with eleven 107 mm tube rocket launchers and four submarines-15 with a capacity of 150 special operations forces are other capabilities of Makran logistic ship.
Also, various drones have the ability to perform operations from Makran long warship ship, including the Pelican vertical flight drone with a range of 1200 km, which is equipped with electro-optical systems and has the ability to perform reconnaissance, targeting, and air monitoring operations on the surrounding environment of Makran logistic ship.
One of the important points about Makran logistics ship is the possibility of extensive support for offensive operations on enemy shores with the increase of future capabilities in the next phase of development, which in this regard also fulfills part of the need to develop amphibious operations capabilities for the Army of the Islamic Republic of Iran. There is news of equipping with short-range vertical air defense missiles in the next phase of Makran development.
Makran port ship Specifications:
- Length about 228 meters and width 42 meters and final displacement tonnage 121,000 tons, final speed of 15 knots equal to 27.5 km per hour, floating height 21.5 meters
- Capability of carrying 5 to 7 types of helicopters, even heavy, especially three types of naval helicopters, including Bell 212, C King, and C Stallion, equipped with a variety of defense weapons and electronic warfare equipment, equipped with anti-ship cruise missile systems
- Having a two-layer hull due to the use of the tanker as a base, very high capacity to carry tens of thousands of tons of various necessities including fuel, water, and support items, long-term ocean navigation capability, very high durability and range, team deployment Special operations and speedboats and support of special operations, the possibility of providing technical and repair services to floating units in open waters.
101/205
Read More:
'Makran' big ship joins Iranian Navy
