{"id":188972,"date":"2019-05-28T07:45:09","date_gmt":"2019-05-28T07:45:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=188972"},"modified":"2019-05-30T07:02:44","modified_gmt":"2019-05-30T07:02:44","slug":"behold-irans-mini-submarine-force-is-dangerous-partly-thanks-to-north-korea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=188972","title":{"rendered":"Behold: Iran’s Mini-Submarine Force Is Dangerous (Partly Thanks to North Korea)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mark Episkopos \u2013 National Review May 26, 2019<\/h1>\n
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Ghadir-class mini submarines. Click to enlarge<\/p><\/div>\n

Tensions continue to mount<\/strong><\/a> between Washington and Iran, with every week bringing forth a new round of diplomatic threats and accusations.<\/span><\/p>\n

Most recently, Revolutionary Guards commander Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami gave a blistering speech in which he assured<\/a><\/strong><\/span> the Iranian parliament that the \u201cvulnerability\u201d of American aircraft carriers will prevent the U.S. military from challenging Iranian power in the Persian Gulf. Such rhetoric is par for the course for Iranian officials and state media, who project unwavering confidence in Iranian military capabilities.<\/span><\/p>\n

But just how capable is Iran\u2019s conventional military, and do they really have the means to effectively resist a U.S. offensive?<\/span><\/p>\n

The National Interest<\/em> previously looked at this nuanced question with overviews of Iran\u2019s air force<\/a><\/strong> and surface navy<\/a><\/strong>. We now turn to what is arguably the core of Iran\u2019s conventional military strength, and the reason why it boasts the fourth-strongest navy <\/a><\/u>in the world: its submarine force.<\/span><\/p>\n

Perhaps the most striking aspect of Iran\u2019s submarine roster is its sheer size, especially in relation to the rest of its navy. Whereas Iran\u2019s combined output of operational corvettes, frigates, and destroyers hardly exceeds <\/a><\/strong>10, it currently fields a whopping 34 submarines.\u00a0The vast majority of these are midget-class–or \u201clittoral\u201d–diesel-electric vessels, with roughly two dozen from Iran\u2019s homemade Ghadir <\/em>class and several more from the North Korean Yugo<\/em> class. Impressively, the Ghadir is much smaller but still has strong offensive capabilities; Ghadir vessels boast the same 533 mm torpedo tubes <\/a><\/strong>as the handful of Iran\u2019s much larger Kilo vessels, only fewer at two versus six<\/span><\/p>\n

To be sure, Iran\u2019s heavy concentration of mini-submarines makes for unflattering comparisons with the much more robust submarine fleets of its American and Russian counterparts. However, their roster makes a great deal of military sense within the context of Iran\u2019s strategic objectives. Iran has no need to project power sea power around the world, or even across the Middle East. Instead, the Iranian navy is constituted and organized around the specific goal of securing the Persian Gulf and specifically the Hormuz Strait. The limited range of Iran\u2019s diesel-electric submarines is irrelevant in the restrictive and shallow<\/strong><\/a> confines of the Gulf, while their near-undetectability mine-laying capability makes them ideal candidates for patrol and ambush operations against hostile surface vessels.<\/span><\/p>\n

More recently, Iran has begun to diversify its indigenous submarine industry beyond the smallest vessels. The new Fateh class<\/strong><\/a> is intended to round out Iran\u2019s lopsided roster, coming in between the Ghadir and Kilo classes at a displacement of 600 tons. In addition to the 533 mm torpedo tubes that are standard across Iran\u2019s submarine force, Iranian state media reports that the Fateh vessels–of which there are two at the time of writing–can fire anti-ship cruise missiles from a submerged position.<\/span><\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s submarine force is by far the most numerous and technically capable arm of its navy and slated to remain so for the foreseeable future given Tehran’s geopolitical investment in the Gulf region. While it is still highly unlikely to match the U.S. Navy in any sort of pitched conflict, submarines would inevitably be the spearhead of a prospective Iranian anti-access\/area-denial (A2\/AD) campaign <\/a><\/strong>to seal the Hormuz Strait, or to stage a one-off surprise saturation attack against US defenses in the Persian Gulf.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mark Episkopos is a frequent contributor\u00a0to The National Interest and serves as research assistant at the Center for the National Interest. Mark is also\u00a0a PhD student in History at American University.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Source<\/a><\/p>\n

Commentary \u2013 May 27, 2019<\/h2>\n
The above article makes a crucial omission. Iran does indeed have more than two-dozen Ghadir mini-submarines, which can fire 533mm torpedoes. That alone should make the U.S. Navy careful if sailing near Iran\u2019s territorial waters.<\/h5>\n
However, torpedoes are not the only weapon carried by the Ghadir.<\/h5>\n
Iran recently revealed that its homemade Ghadir and the larger Fateh subs can also launch anti-ship missiles. Earlier this year Tehran revealed that it had successfully test-fired<\/a><\/span> anti-ship cruise missiles from Ghadir-class submarines during naval drills near the Straits of Hormuz.<\/h5>\n