On Feb. 17, IRINN TV and Channel 2 (Iran) aired reports about Iran’s unveiling of the Fateh semi-heavy submarine, which one of the reports said is now in mass production. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani went to the Hormozgan Province to announce the addition of Fateh to the Navy of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army, a few days after the 40th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution.
In the IRINN TV report, Iranian Defense Minister Amir Hatami said that Fateh is the first Iranian vessel that can launch torpedoes, missiles and anti-ship cruise missiles from underwater. Deputy Defense Minister Amir Rastegari, who is also the director of the Defense Ministry’s Marine Industries Organization, said that the Fateh submarine can participate in “network-centric and hybrid warfare” while simultaneously engaging enemy vessels in combat.
In the Channel 2 report, Rastegari said that Iran will unveil a new water-jet motor technology, which is one of the technologies that has sanctions applied to it, in late February.
He also said that Iran has successfully developed diesel, electric, turbine, steam and nuclear naval propellants. He specified that Iran has recently made significant advancements in brushless DC (BLDC) electric motors. In the same broadcast, Commander of the Navy of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army Hossein Khanzadi said that Iran has a 24/7 presence in its territorial waters, and claimed that the United States believes that the region is no longer safe for its presence.
He added: “The time has come for us to banish them from the region.”
