TEHRAN – The deputy commander of the Iranian Navy has announced that Iran plans to build 10 new domestically designed destroyers.
In an interview with the Persian service of the Fars News Agency published on Tuesday, Rear Admiral Abbas Zamini said that the Navy has planned to design and manufacture 10 new destroyers in addition to the Jamaran and Velayat destroyers.
He added that the plan envisaged manufacturing seven destroyers of the Sina class, which were capable of firing missiles, and three destroyers of the Mowj class.
Iran’s first domestically manufactured destroyer, the Jamaran, was launched in February 2010.
The warship can carry helicopters and is equipped with torpedoes and electronic radar. It is 94 meters long and weighs over 1,500 tons.
The destroyer is capable of engaging in surface, air, and undersea warfare.
In September 2011, Navy Commander Habibollah Sayyari announced that the second domestically manufactured destroyer would join the country’s naval fleet in the near future.
Rear Admiral Sayyari said that the Jamaran II (Velayat) was highly advanced and differed greatly from the Jamaran.
Zamini also said that about 70 percent of the project to build the Velayat destroyer had been completed and expressed hope that the destroyer would be launched during the current Iranian calendar year, which started on March 20.
