Unmanned, "intelligent" Iranian sub w radar evasion ability

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from the Malaysia Star, Malaysia

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?fi ... ec=apworld


Iran builds new, smart sub
TEHRAN,Iran (AP) - Iranian state radio is quoting the country's defense minister as saying Iran's military capabilities "increased remarkably'' after the construction of a new submarine.

General Mostafa Mohammadnajjar says the submarine is "smart,'' unmanned and has radar-evading capabilities.

Tuesday's report did not elaborate on its size and technical specifics, and did not say whether the submarine had been tested.

Iran occasionally announces production of advanced weapons. Since 1992, it has been active in producing military tanks, missiles, torpedoes, as well as guided bombs and airplanes.

But little is known about Iranian submarines, beyond announcements years ago that Tehran bought some Russian subs and was to produce its own, smaller-sized ones.-AP



and here's about the same news release from an Iranian paper.

http://www.alalam.ir/english/en-NewsPag ... 0812130327

Iran Builds Unmanned Sub, Radar Evading Boat


TEHRAN, Aug 12--Defense Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar announced Tuesday that Iran has built a new unmanned intelligent submarine along with a boat which evades radar detection.

Najjar told reporters that the intelligent submarine and the boat would enhance the Iranian Navy's defense capabilities.

The announcement came a week after the defense minister announced the weapons were test fired.

Last month, Iran's Revolution Guards Corps successfully test fired a home-made missile which can evade radar.

"Iran successfully test fired a home-made Fajr-3 missile," Hossein Salami, a senior commander, was quoted as saying on state television.

The missile was tested as part of a week of naval war games that started on Friday and were due to take place in the Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman.

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http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htsub/ ... 80813.aspx

Iranian Robots Rule
August

http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htsub/ ... 80813.aspx

Iranian Robots Rule
August 13, 2008: Iran now claims it has developed and manufactured a UUV (Unmanned Underwater Vehicle). Iran regularly claims to have developed new military technology. In time, either nothing more is heard of it beyond the initial press release, or the Iranian wonder weapons turns out to be a crude knock off of some foreign technology the Iranians either stole, or bought and smuggled in.

As for UUVs, there are some excellent models available on the civilian market. Take, for example, the Remus 100. This is an 80 pound vehicle that looks like a small torpedo. It is 5.4 feet long and 190mm in diameter. Carrying a side scanning sonar, and other sensors, a Remus 100 can stay under water for 22 hours, traveling at a cruising speed of five kilometers an hour (top speed is nearly twice that.) The UUV can operate up to 100 kilometers from its operator, and dive to 300 feet. The Remus keeps costs down by using GPS, in addition to inertial guidance. The UUV surfaces every hour or two to get a GPS fix, and then goes back to doing what it was programmed to do.

Remus 100 was designed mainly for civilian applications (inspecting underwater facilities, pollution monitoring, underwater survey or search). But there are similar military and police applications, like searching for mines, or other terrorist activities. The U.S. Navy uses Remus, as do many others. This is in addition to many civilian users. Australia and New Zealand also use Remus 100, and over 120 are in use. Depending on sensors carried, each Remus costs $350-500,000. The Iranian tech theft and smuggling network would have no problem getting one of these for reverse-engineering. The components are off-the-shelf stuff.

Last year Iran announced a new miniature submarine design, which it called the Yono class. The Iranian Navy did not provide much in the way of details. From available information, this appears to be an Iranian version of the Italian MG110 mini-subs. Some of these boats were sold to Pakistan years ago. The Iranians and Pakistanis have been known to exchange information like this (on foreign weapons) before.

The MG110s are 85 feet long, displace 105 tons and have a crew of six. These boats are designed to also carry eight combat scuba divers. These subs can carry two torpedoes or mines externally. Top speed on the surface (using the diesel engine) is 16 kilometers an hour. The sub can stay at sea for about five days. It can stay under water for up to eight hours at a time (on batteries). These subs are hard to detect, but it remains to be seen if the Iranian boats are as reliable and capable as the Italian ones they are modeled on. The Iranians love to talk up new weapons they developed themselves, but when the stuff is actually put to use, the performance tends to be dismal.

Iran has bought mini-subs from North Korea, which has been designing and building these for decades. These UUVs and minisubs are mainly useful for commando type operations.

[u-5075]

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hqkv ... gD92P999O0

Iran kicks off

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hqkv ... gD92P999O0

Iran kicks off production of locally built sub
1 day ago

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iranian state TV says the country has launched production of a domestically built submarine capable of firing missiles and torpedoes.

Defense Minister Gen. Mostafa Mohammad Najjar inaugurated a production line Monday for the mid-sized sub, named Ghaem. The TV quotes him as saying Iran has made huge investments to become self-sufficient and equip its armed forces with modern weapons.

The report says two other submarines, which began production in 2005, have been delivered to Iran's navy.

Iran occasionally announces production of advanced weapons but rarely makes statements about submarines. Years ago, Tehran said it bought some Russian subs and would produce its own, smaller-sized ones.



http://www.arabtimesonline.com/client/p ... 01&ccid=11

Iran launches sub production line

TEHRAN, Aug 25, (RTRS): Iran has launched a submarine production line to ensure its forces are equipped to maintain security in the vital oil shipping route, the Strait of Hormuz waterway, the defence minister said on Monday. Iran, embroiled in a standoff with the West over its nuclear ambitions, has said it could respond to any military attack by closing the strait at the southern end of the Gulf through which about 40 percent of the world’s traded oil passes. The United States, whose navy Fifth Fleet is based in the Gulf state of Bahrain, has vowed to keep shipping lanes opened.

The West accuses Tehran of seeking to build nuclear warheads but Iran, the world’s fourth largest oil producer, insists its aim is to master technology to make electricity. Washington has not ruled out military action if diplomacy fails to end the row. Iran’s armed forces “have been the protector of the security of the strategic Strait of Hormuz and regards the security of this waterway as vital for itself and the countries of the region,” Defence Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar said. Najjar, whose remarks were carried by Iran’s ISNA news agency, was speaking at the inauguration of a submarine production line. The agency said it was for a “semi-heavy” class of submarine called Qaim but did not give details. The agency said the submarine could “carry and fire various kinds of torpedoes and subsurface missiles, as well as transport special operations personnel”. He said Iran had invested in domestic production to meet its security aims along its coast.

Iran’s state-owned Press TV website quoted Iranian Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari last week saying a new submarine using domestic technology had been added to Iran’s fleet. But the report did not give details. Military experts say Iran rarely reveals enough detail about its new military equipment to determine its efficacy but say the Islamic Republic, despite having much less fire-power than U.S. forces, could still cause havoc in Gulf if it was pushed. In 2005, Iran said it had launched a production line for midget submarines that experts said would most likely be used for troop transport in amphibious operations. The experts say Iran’s navy has three Russian Kilo class submarines and other smaller submersibles, including the Qadir. Press TV said Iran also operated a submersible called the Nahang, a word meaning whale.