Iran unveils warship, missile launchers amid regional tensions
With the 2,100-ton vessel added to its fleet along with nearly 100 missile-launching boats, Iran appears to be flexing its muscles at sea.
TEHRAN — Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) added a new warship and scores of missile-launching fast boats to its naval fleet in the Persian Gulf on Thursday.
The ocean-cruising ship, dubbed Shahid Mahdavi, was inaugurated by the IRGC's chief Maj. Gen. Gen. Hossein Salami and its naval commander, Rear Adm. Alireza Tangsiri, at a ceremony in the southern port of Bandar Abbas.
According to details provided by the IRGC-affiliated Tasnim News, the warship weighs 2,100 tons and is 240 meters long. It's capable of carrying helicopters, drones and a host of surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missile systems and is loaded with advanced communication equipment and 3-D radars.
The 95 launching boats enjoy "very high maneuvering power" and the ability to "operate under varying weather conditions," Tasnim reported, adding that the missiles they carry could reach targets of up to 180 kilometers (112 miles).
