Repaired Sahand destroyer, floating base join Iranian Navy, state media say

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Nov 29 (Reuters) – The Sahand destroyer, which capsized during repairs last year, has been recommissioned into the Iranian Navy along with the Kurdistan floating base, Iran’s state media reported on Saturday.

The move is aimed at “strengthening naval combat capability, expanding strategic reach and enhancing access to international waters”, the English-language Press TV said.

Sahand, an Iranian-built stealth destroyer, was first launched in December 2018. It is equipped with a helicopter deck, torpedo launchers, anti-aircraft and anti-ship guns, surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles, and electronic-warfare systems, said the broadcast. It sank last year in the shallow Gulf waters after being briefly repositioned.

According to the Tehran Times daily, it is named after the “Sahand-class Alvand” frigate that sank in a 1988 confrontation with the U.S. Navy in the Gulf.

As a floating base, Kurdistan can provide rescue and relief, accommodate the heaviest helicopters, and support three destroyers on a three-year, around-the-world mission without needing to dock for fuel, state TV said.

The Maritime Executive, a U.S.-based industry publication, reported in May that the Kurdistan was converted from a 33-year-old crude-oil tanker operating under the Iranian flag since 2019, and includes a helipad likely intended for helicopter and UAV operations. It is expected to perform a similar role to Makran, another former crude-oil tanker converted at a shipyard west of Bandar Abbas.

Iran has developed a large domestic arms industry under international sanctions and embargoes that restrict weapons imports. It launched its first locally made destroyer in 2010 as part of an effort to overhaul navy equipment dating largely to before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

In 2021, the Iranian Navy ship Kharg sank after catching fire in the Gulf of Oman during a training mission, with no casualties reported.

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