Iran’s IRGC unveils first drone carrier warship
The new warship is the latest locally made addition to Iran’s growing military arsenal.
Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guard Corps unveiled its first homegrown drone carrier warship Thursday as the country’s domestic defense industry grows.
The carrier, “Shahid Bahman Baqeri,” was delivered to the IRGC’s naval fleet in the Persian Gulf in a ceremony held in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas.
The warship features a 180-meter runway and can travel up to 22,000 nautical miles, IRGC naval commander Alireza Tangsiri said during the ceremony. He said it can carry several squadrons of drones and guided submersibles as well as helicopters and cruise missiles. It is also equipped with short and medium-range air defense systems, intelligence equipment and a flight control tower.
Tangsiri said it took two years to convert a commercial vessel into a drone carrier.
Also speaking at the ceremony, Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Maj. Gen. Mohammad Hossein Baqeri said that more than 90% of Iran’s military equipment is now produced locally in Iran. Before the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iran had imported over 90% of its military needs.
Iran has been working on its domestic military capabilities for years. On Jan. 15, the Iranian navy received its first locally made signals intelligence vessel. Some 1,000 new domestically produced drones with a range of more than 2,000 kilometers (1,242 miles) joined the Iranian army last month.
The latest addition to the IRGC’s fleet comes as tensions between Iran and Israel reached a peak in the past year following the Iranian-backed Hamas group’s surprise assault on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which triggered the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip.
“Just as foreigners enter Iran’s territorial waters, we will also operate in distant waters in accordance with international laws to ensure the security of Iran and maintain the complete safety of Iranian shipping routes,” Baqeri stated in his address.
He hailed the new drone carrier as crucial for strengthening the country’s national defense.
IRGC commander Hossein Salami said at the ceremony that Iran must strengthen its deterrence capacity to prevent war.
“Iran is not considered a threat to any country, but we do not bow before threat by any power,” he added.
In October 2024, Israel launched two waves of airstrikes across Iran in retaliation for the IRGC firing ballistic missiles at Israel in response to the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and IRGC Deputy Commander Abbas Nilforoushan in a September 2024 airstrike in Beirut.
The IRGC launched its first direct attack on Israel in April 2024, firing hundreds of drones in response to a suspected Israeli strike on the Iranian Consulate in Damascus.
