Iran's Navy Makes It to the Parade
At the beginning of the year, the IRGC Navy (Nedsa) announced that it would hold a series of major exercises in January, to be concluded by the Nedsa's "largest ever fleet review" on January 27.
Nothing quite fitting this description appears to have occurred, but Iran’s other naval force, the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy (Nedaja) assembled a substantial sail-past of ships at the conclusion of the naval element of Exercise Zulfiqar 1403 on February 26.The presence of ships on this fleet review is of some interest, at a time when the new US administration has warned that it could commence stop and searches of tankers in international waters believed to be carrying sanctioned Iranian oil. At a time when the Nedaja is limiting its press releases revealing the make–up and location of its operationally-deployed assets which could be tasked to protect such tankers, it is of interest to note which ships remain in home waters.
The Nedaja has not released the names of vessels seen on February 26 off Bandar Abbas, but it is possible to identify more than ten that were involved. Often, Iranian media sources splice in video from previous exercises to bulk up the assets on display, but in this instance the choppy sea state and meteorological conditions common to all the imagery released provide some veracity.
The Alvand and Moudge Class frigates IRINS Alvand (F71) and IRINS Jamaran (F76) led the fleet, followed by IRINS Bayandor (F81). Two submarines were spotted: IRINS Fateh (S920) and an unidentified Ghadir Class midget submarine struggling in the heavy swell. Kaman and Sina Class fast attack craft IRINS Neyzeh (P231) and IRINS Zereh (P235) were also suffering in the swell, and in separate footage the Kaivan Class patrol boat IRINS Tiran (P202), first launched in USCG’s Curtis Bay (MD) yard in 1957, was seen launching a 35km-range Nasr anti-ship missile, developed from the Chinese C-704.
Numbers were made up by IRINS Sirjan (K472) and a second unidentified Delvar Class logistics vessel, and by the Hendijan Class auxiliary IRINS Bahregan (A1406). The largest vessel in the Nedaja, the converted tanker IRINS Makran (K441) was not featured in the sail-past but could be seen in the background.
Known to be out on deployment at the moment are the Nedaja’s 100th Flotilla, made up of IRINS Bushehr (K422) and IRINS Lavan (L514), on the annual winter training cruise with 220 naval cadets aboard. The flotilla was due to leave Mumbai on February 28.
The Nedaja had announced last November that the 100th Flotilla was heading to the Red Sea to rotate into the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden security mission. With the 100th Flotilla clearly elsewhere, it is not clear when the 99th Flotilla led by IRINS Dena (F75) left the Red Sea, as there was no normal homecoming announcement, but IRINS Dena was spotted in Port Klang, Malaysia on February 24.
Rear Admiral Shahram Irani, the Nedaja commander, had indicated to Press TV in February that there were a further two unaccounted-for flotillas currently deployed in the Indian Ocean. It appears therefore that the Nedaja is maintaining a high level of operational deployments at present, which - given the obsolescent status of most of its fleet - is an impressive maintenance and manning achievement. Given the security situation in the region at present, it will need to be sustained.
The Iranians usually conduct Exercise Maritime Security Belt with the Chinese and Russian navies in mid-March, and the suspected Russian contingent appears to still be on track to make the date. The Steregushchiy Class Project 20380 missile corvettes Hero of the Russian Federation Aldar Tsydenzhapov (F339) and Rezkiy (F343) and the oiler Pechenga (IMO 7710977) were on March 3 conducting a live firing exercise in the Eastern Indian Ocean.