Iranian forward base / helicopter / UAV carriers.

In my opinion, this ship is intended to gain experience in the domain.
It can be thought that it must be very useful in situations of natural disasters and all other tasks of peace time.
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Irianian Navy helicopters

Irianian Navy helicopters A nice and quite unique photo emerged on Twitter of four Islamic Republic of Iran Navy (IRIN) helicopters on board IRINS Makran (441), a rebuilt special p...
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https://twitter.com/x/status/1348967453729165317
View: https://twitter.com/AmirIGM/status/1348967453729165317
 
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Missions of IRINS Makran Forward Base Ship :
• Deploy special forces
• Carry out SAR missions
• Base for fast boats
• Logistics support
• Replenishment and transfer of supplies
• Treating wounded
• Transporting and operating radar and missile systems

Aviation facilities include :
• 2x AB 212ASW
• 2x ASH-3D 'Sea King' -ASW and SAR capabilities
• 1x RH-53D 'Sea Stallion' -Minelaying and mine-hunting
• Tactical 'Pelican' VTOL UAV -Reconnaissance

Specifications :
Length : 228m
Beam : 42m
Draft : 14.7m
"Net weight" (displacement) 106,000 tons

Official Infographic on IRINS Makran details :
• Has a well developed hospital w/ radiology, operating room, dental, pharmacy, recovery unit, various specialist medics.
• Carries 6 fast boats, marines, suicide UAVs
• Can support 5 warships for 3 months
 
It's mostly a logistic support ship, which main role is to boost Iranian Navy blue water capabilities. Basically it's a mobile base facility, that could be used by Iranian warships to operate far from home. Also -

F.L. said:
Official Infographic on IRINS Makran has some interesting extra details
• Has a well developed hospital w/ radiology, operating room, dental, pharmacy, recovery unit, various specialist medics.
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- it could probably be well-adapted for humanitarian missions (thus boosting Iranian international status & helping to improve relations with distant nations).
 
The Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy has a comparable, but smaller, ship : the "Shahid Mahdavi" (110-3), commissioned in March 2023.
Commissioning_ceremony_of_IRGC_naval_vessels_in_March_2023_20.jpg FqwjzmQWIAAsTur-1024x768.jpeg
Fqwjy3lWYAEZNo4.jpeg
 
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F.L. said:
A thread or discuss about Iranian forward base/helicopter carrier IRINS Makran. Projects, armament and other. And to some degree, its future.
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As for its future, it might want to stay away from seas where it is not wanted, lest it experience the same unfortunate incidents as the IRINS MV Saviz...
 
On a less serious note, the Makran reminds me a bit of GI Joe's Valkyrie, a tanker transformed into an aircraft carrier base. ;)
 

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Iranian sailors return home after historic world tour (20 May 2023)
Tehran (IRNA)- Admiral Shahram Irani, commander of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army Navy, last night attended the official welcome of the sailors of the destroyer Dana and the supply ship Makran on their return from the "around the world" mission. The 86th naval fleet of the sea army, which has been sent on a circumnavigation mission since October 2022, has entered Iran's territorial waters for a few days and is continuing its journey to Bandar Abbas to dock.
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170378620.jpg
 
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The Soviets had considered using civilian ships in the same style with their Yak-38 jump jets.
In a maritime context, the Yak-38 was not limited to the decks of Kiev. In September 1983, AV-MF pilots operated from the civilian Ro-Ro vessel Agostinho Neto, and NII-VVS pilots conducted further tests from another Ro-Ro vessel, Nikolai Cherkasov. In both cases, use was made of a heat-resistant landing platform; further land-based trials tested the practicality of dispersed landing platforms, in a similar concept to the British Royal Air Force's Harrier operations in West Germany.
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From Wiki with source ACIG.
If the Iranian navy had received some Sea Harriers, the Makran might well have become an aircraft carrier... :)
GTX said:
What may have resulted:

SeaHarrierIran1.jpg

SeaHarrierIran2.jpg

SeaHarrierIran3.jpg
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Old news but don’t see a topic for it yet.
Iran is building a carrier…with superstructure at the rear I imagine it will only operate helicopters and VTOL drones.

news.usni.org

Iran Building Drone Aircraft Carrier from Converted Merchant Ship, Photos Show - USNI News

In a dry dock near the entrance to the Persian Gulf, Iran’s sectarian naval force is converting a former merchant container ship into a drone aircraft carrier, according to satellite and open source photos published last week by USNI News contributor H I Sutton. Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps...
news.usni.org news.usni.org
 
Yep, seems to be a dedicated drone carrier. A logical step for Iran; in terms of drone technology, they are almost on pair with US and China, and it terms of drone tactics & implementation they may be even ahead of superpowers. So, they are trying to use their advantages in drones to increase their navy capabilities.

Make sence, actually. Historically, it was 2nd-3rd rate navies, which were most eager to try radical new ideas. First-rate navies have sufficient advantage in traditional warfighting technology to be cautious about radical changes.
 
Some older photos showing the skijump & "angled deck".
At first it was rumoured that the ship with the angled deck was the Shahid Mahdavi (110-3), but this has since been commissioned and does not have an angled deck. The only ship with an angled deck is the Shahid Bagheri (110-4).
FwQ4if8WcAAAJKA.jpg FwRhw1LX0AYXZAE.jpg
FlOoaIDaYAIESnj.jpg FlOoZmcakAEGzve.jpg
 
That ?angled? flight deck looks mnore like additional deck space rather than an angled 'flight deck' imho. Not sure exactly what to make of it tbh.
 
@ F.L. thanks for that view, clears things up. It does keep the heavy elevators nearer the CoG but will probably reduce hanger capacity/work space below deck. A compromise possibly due to the origin of the hull design.
 
Sineva said:
There are 2 more base ships currently being converted at the isoiko shipyard

These are to be named the Khuzestan and Kurdistan
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Judging by their names, I think they are destined for the Iranian Navy, given that they give their ships regional names.
 
F.L. said:
The Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy has a comparable, but smaller, ship : the "Shahid Mahdavi" (110-3), commissioned in March 2023.
View attachment 699291View attachment 699292
View attachment 699293
Click to expand...

The IRGC also has operated the Saviz and Behshad for many years; one or the other has been anchored in the Red Sea more or less constantly during the Houthi/KSA/UAE conflict. They are smaller than the other ships discussed here but fills a similar purpose of operational base afloat. Saviz may no longer be operational after an Israel attack/sabotage:


BEHSHAD, General Cargo Ship - Details and current position - IMO 9167289 - VesselFinder

Vessel BEHSHAD (IMO 9167289, MMSI 422036200) is a General Cargo Ship built in 1999 and currently sailing under the flag of Iran.
www.vesselfinder.com www.vesselfinder.com
 
Imagine if they tried landing their Tomcats on those ships... back to square one, 50 years later.

More seriously: helicopters + drones + commandos ships ? that's their goal ? One thing is sure: if they ever go into a shooting match with Israel or (god forbid) US Navy, those ships will last aproximately one minute and counting...
 
Archibald said:
More seriously: helicopters + drones + commandos ships ? that's their goal ? One thing is sure: if they ever go into a shooting match with Israel or (god forbid) US Navy, those ships will last aproximately one minute and counting...
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Israel already crippled one of them as part of the shadow tanker war the two were having a couple years ago.
 
Josh_TN said:
Israel already crippled one of them as part of the shadow tanker war the two were having a couple years ago.
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Exactly. And may have done for a second (I never saw anything about the cause of the accident that sank Kharg)

These are not intended for a high-intensity war with the USN, they are bases for "operations other than war" (aka low-intensity conflict). If Sabiz were still operational right now, it's likely that she would be helping with targeting for the Houthi interdiction operations in the Red Sea but only in arguably deniable ways.
 
Here is a good rearview show of the soon-to-be UAV carrier as well as a side-profile.
 

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If they've adapted 'civilian' hull design, their compartmentalisation and damage control provisions may be minimal. Given a high profile for PR, they'd best stay well out of harm's way...

Uh, would the 'angled ski-jump' be intended to better fly-off drones ??

FWIW, what is their CIWS provision ??
 
Nik said:
If they've adapted 'civilian' hull design, their compartmentalisation and damage control provisions may be minimal. Given a high profile for PR, they'd best stay well out of harm's way...

Uh, would the 'angled ski-jump' be intended to better fly-off drones ??

FWIW, what is their CIWS provision ??
Click to expand...

These are civilian derived forward bases for special operations (as noted previously not dissimilar in concept to the modified Alaska class tankers the USN uses) and as such are almost certainly not designed to defend themselves or receive damage in a hot war. Note that one Iranian ship of this type, the Kharg, sank due to an engine fire under somewhat suspicious circumstances on a "training mission":


 

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Could the Soviets have that capability in the 70s and 80s ?
It certainly was possible from a technological standpoint even back then
 
Monk78 said:
Could the Soviets have that capability in the 70s and 80s ?
It certainly was possible from a technological standpoint even back then
Click to expand...

The ship was feasible any time after about 1940, probably. The drones would have been very challenging until quite recently.
 

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