Iran building new naval vessels: admiral

Source: Tehran Times

TEHRAN – The commander of the Iranian Navy has announced that the country’s experts are building new destroyers, submarines, and missile-firing warships. In an interview with the Persian service of IRNA published on Wednesday, Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said that the projects to build destroyers of the Jamaran class, semi-heavy and light submarines, and missile-firing warships are well underway. The Jamaran is the first domestically manufactured destroyer. It can carry helicopters and is equipped with torpedoes. It is 94 meters long and weighs over 1,500 tons. The warship is capable of engaging in surface, air, and undersea warfare. Velayat destroyer to be launched by March 2013 Sayyari also said that the second domestically manufactured destroyer, named the Velayat, will be launched during the current Iranian calendar year, which ends on March 20, 2013. The Velayat destroyer is highly advanced and differs greatly from the Jamaran, he said. He added that other destroyers of the Navy have also been equipped with new radar, propulsion, communications, and surveillance systems and weapons. Elsewhere in his remarks, the admiral said that the Navy has planned to expand its presence on the open seas, adding that the scope of Iran’s naval operations is beyond the country’s borders. AM/PA