Moderator: Community Manager
[Post Reply] [*]  Page 1 of 1  [ 6 posts ] 
Author Message
Vossiej
Post subject: A not so alternate universe involving Iran...Posted: August 25th, 2012, 1:35 pm
Offline
Posts: 498
Joined: July 27th, 2010, 5:29 am
Location: The Netherlands
As I mentioned before, my mind was working on a ''possible futuristic'' scenario involving Iran. It basically takes off from where we are now, 2012.

Brief History of Iran's Naval Forces
Iran's naval forces, like the country itself, have been shaped by the Islamic revolution, petroleum, and an often adversarial relationship with neighboring countries and the international community as a whole. These factors have influenced how Iran's naval forces are organized, how they are equipped and manned, and how they interact with external forces.

Iran had two naval forces: the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy, or IRIN, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy, or IRGCN. The IRIN is the naval branch or Iran's Artesh, the traditional military force that existed prior to the 1979 revolution. This force was the former Shah's Imperial Iranian Navy and was originally designed to be a blue-water force capable of demonstrating the power and prestige of the Shah's Iran. Today, it consists mainly of older, mid-sized naval combatants, such as corvettes and missile-equipped patrol craft purchased by the Shah from western nations, including the United States, The United Kingdom and France. The IRIN has not fully escaped the stigma of its pre-revolutionary loyalties and remains secondary in the most respect to the IRGCN. The IRGCN emerged after the Islamic revolution during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s. The revolutionary forces not only distrusted the former Shah's military, they greatly weakened it by executing many senior commanders and conducting purgers to rid it of any loyalists to the Shah. This allowed the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to take on a larger role in the country's defense. In addition to the Original ground forces element, the RGC also formalized a emerging naval component in the mid-1980s,following successful amphibious operations in the southern marshlands of Iraq. Over the intervening decades, the IRGCN has been politically favored over the IRIN and has capitalized on this status to acquire advanced weaponry and better platforms to develop additional capabilities.

Unlike many countries, Iran does not have a long naval history. The development of Iran's naval forces was kick-started by the discovery of Iran's petroleum deposits in the early 20th century and the country subsequent need to protect its maritime commerce. However, the Shah's navy operated under the shadow of foreign forces until the 1970s when British stewardship in the Persian Gulf came to and end.

After the British withdrawal, Iran took a larger role in protecting the Persian Gulf sea-lanes, particularly escorting Iranian merchant ships. The Shah, awash with oil revenue, provided a large defense budget and the promise of new equipment with which the navy could carry out it expanding missions. In line with the government's cooperative relationship with the West, the Shah's navy ordered missile frigates from the Netherlands, modified Spruance destroyers from the United States, corvettes from the United Kingdom, diesel-electric submarines from Germany and missile-equipped patrol crafts from France, and operated them largely according to NATO doctrine. While some acquisitions were necessary for the navy's missions, other were more for the prestige that came with having one of the strongest navies in the region. So great were the Shah's ambitions that a few western countries sought to impose limits on the Shah's quest for regional power.

The Shah's plans to dominate the regions's waters were ultimatly terminated by the Islamic Revolution. In 1979, the Shah was deposed an the nation was transformed into the Islamic Republic of Iran, led by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini. Iran's ties with the West and the defense contracts that came with them were severed, leaving many Iranian naval aspirations unfulfilled. However, the remnants of the Shah's Imperial Iranian Navy survived to form the core of the new Islamic Republic of Iran Navy.

Soon after the revolution the Iranian naval forces experienced their most active period. During the Iran-Iraq War, both belligerents staged attacks against merchant shipping in the Persian Gulf. By one estimate, 546 commercial vessels were damaged, most of which were Kuwaiti vessels attacked by Iran. Iranian naval forces executed hit-and-run attacks with small boats, fired naval guns from IRIN warships, boarded commercial vessels in search of material destined to support Iraq's war efforts, and attacked merchants using coastal defense cruise missiles.

Iran's use of naval mines during the war was, however, the most notable aspect of the maritime front of the war. During the very first escort mission of the re-flagged tankers by the U.S. Navy ships in July 1987, the Kuwaiti super tanker AL Rekkah, re-flagged as the United States super tanker Bridgeton, struck a mine. Two month's later, the United States cought the IRIN's landing ship Iran Ajr laying mines off the coast of Bahrain. Then in April 1988, USS Samuel B. Roberts hit an Iranian mine, initiating the retaliatory Operation ''Praying Mantis'' by the U.S. Forces. This list is not all inclusive, and many other incidents or Iranian mine strikes occurred troughtout the course of the war.

Today, Iran's naval forces protect Iranian waters and natural resources, especially Iran's petroleum-related assets and industries. Iranian maritime security operations guard against the smuggling of illegal goods and immigrant, and protect against the poaching and stealing of fish in territorial waters. Additionally, Iran uses its naval forces for political ens such as naval diplomacy and strategic messaging. Most of all, Iranian naval forces are becoming more and more equipped to successfully defend against perceived external threats. Public statements by Iranian leaders indicate that they would close or control the Strait of Hormuz if provoked, thereby cutting off almost 30% of the world's oil supply.

Iran's naval forces today
Since about a decade, Iran and its leaders have put up a more aggressive stand against Western countries. In combination with Iran's development and advancement of nuclear physics, most Western countries have established an unfriendly relationship with Iran. As a result of the current tension between Iran and the West, the IRIN has underwent a massive reorganization over the last few years. The most important aspect was the separation of the country's two naval forces. Since 2007 the IRIN is responsible for the Persian Gulf, whilst the IRGCN were to take the Caspian Sea area under its domain. This led to the IRIN to become the more favorable branch instead of the IRGCN.

After the Islamic revolution and the start of the Iran–Iraq War, economic sanctions and an international arms embargo led by the United States coupled with a high demand for military hardware forced Iran to rely on its domestic arms industry for repair and spare parts. The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps was put in charge of re-organising the domestic military industry. Under their command Iran's military industry was dramatically expanded, and with the Ministry of Defence pouring capital into the missile industry, Iran soon had an arsenal of missiles.

Since 1992, it also has produced its own tanks, ships, armored personnel carriers, missiles, submarines and fighter aircraft.

In 2007, following events in Iran's Nuclear Program, the United Nations Security Council placed sanctions on Iran forbidding it from exporting any form of weapons.Despite these sanctions, Iran sold some military equipment to countries such as Sudan, Syria and North Korea.

Overall Iran's military industry has taken great strides in the past 25 years, and now manufactures many types of arms and equipments. According to Iranian officials, the country sold $100 million worth of military equipment in 2003 and as of 2010 had exported weapons to 57 countries.

In 2010 a great modernization program was announced by Iranian officials, these were to include ''new destroyers and submarines, advanced 5th generation fighters using stealth technology, two new types of Main Battle Tanks and missiles that could take out a U.S. carrier in a single blow''. Foreign military observers were skeptical, especially after Iran unveiled its first domestically built 'Destroyer'. Iran was almost made a laughing stock in Western media, reporting about the long-awaited Iranian destroyer. The 'Jamaran' was to show the latest technology of the Iranian Navy, to the West it looked like a 1970s low-end patrol frigate.

Jamaran is the name of a domestically produced 1,400 tons Moudge class guided missile frigate launched in early 2010 in Bandar-e-Abbas. Iran said that the design and building of Jamaran and the missile boat Paykan were among the greatest achievements of the Iranian Navy and the ship's launch marks a major technological leap for Iran's naval industries. It is the first ship from four in its class. More ships in its class are under construction to be added to the Iranian Naval fleets in the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf soon. The ship is designed for a crew of 140. The Jamaran class combines anti-submarine assets with other systems of weapons capable of dealing with surface and air threats as well.

While the Jamaran has been described by the press as a guided missile destroyer, within some western military analysis circles such as Jane's Information Group and Globalsecurity.org it has instead been designated a frigate based on its displacement; the latter acknowledged that there are no "rules in these matters". Furthermore Globalsecurity.org states: 'Iran calls these ships "destroyers" but they would be classed as a light Frigate by the reckoning of all other countries.' PressTV and Iranian military are themselves describing Jamaran as a "frigate class ship" in the same article where they claim it as a "destroyer".

Despite these minor looking advancements in military technology, new sources have indicated that Iran is now building more advanced ships with domestically produced Surface-to-Air missiles, long-range cruise missiles, torpedo's and gun systems...

[ img ]

_________________
“The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person who is doing it.”


Top
[Profile] [Quote]
Vossiej
Post subject: Re: A not so alternate universe involving Iran...Posted: August 25th, 2012, 2:00 pm
Offline
Posts: 498
Joined: July 27th, 2010, 5:29 am
Location: The Netherlands
The ''Moudge II'' class

The Iranian frigate Velayat, also known as Moudge 2 (meaning Wave 2) is the second ship of the Iranian Moudge class frigates which appears to be a development of the Alvand class (British Saam class). On February 23, 2010, Iranian media reported that the production of the ship had commenced. When completed it would have the ability to carry helicopters, anti-ship missiles, surface-to-air missiles, torpedoes, modern guns and air defence guns. The ship was also to be equipped with electronic warfare devices. When the first ship, the Jamaran, was completed back in 2010, it was the pinnacle of Iranian shipbuilding capabilities. However, in the eyes of many Western observers it was reversed engineerd version of the British Saam class, developed in the 1960's. Despite its obsolete appearance, it showed that Iran had developed the capability to self-manufacture weapon systems such as the Fajr-27 (Oto Melara 76mmSR) gun and the 'Noor' (Chinese C-802) anti-ship missile.

On August the 25th 2012 the Velayat was revealed to the public. Western observers had to admit that Iran was catching up with modern-day technology faster than they could ever imagen. The Velayat had remained the same hull as the Jamaran, but had much more powerful weapons and radar systems than it's predecessor. With the first pictures showing up on the internet, both official and unofficial bureau's started to investigate the improvement over the Jamaran. The overall superstructure seemed more clean and organised than the Jamaran, although naval architects expressed their concerns about the ship begin overweight and possible top-heavy. It seemed that the ship was equipped with an unknown SAM launcher was fitted on the rear of the superstructure. Also it was announced that the ship carried a crew of only 98, compared to the 140 on the Jamaran. This concluded that the Iranian's were fast in the automation of the ships' electronics. The following drawing and information is the first information available of the new ship:

[ img ]
Class and type: Moudge II sub-class?
Ships in class: 4
Displacement: 2,000 (estimated)
Length: 94.5 m
Beam: 11.1 m
Draught: 3.25 m
Propulsion: CODAG, double shaft, 20.000 hp, 4 diesel generators, 4 x 550 kw (official sources)
Speed: 30 knots (official sources)
Complement: 98 (official sources)
Armament:
1x Fajr-27 76mm gun
4x Noor/Qader anti-ship missiles
1x 8cell unknown SAM (probably Shahab Thaqeb, reversed engineered HQ-7)
1x Fateh35 35mm gun
2x triple 324mm torpedotubes

Aircraft carried: 1x Bel212 ASW helicopter, no hangar

The primary weapon deployed by Valeyat is the Bell 212, which acts in concert with shipboard sensors to seek out and destroy submarines at long range. The ship also carries a close-in anti-submarine torpedo system, the 324 mm light torpedo with 30 km range, mounted in triple torpedo launchers inside the hull. To deal with surface forces, the vessel is equipped with four Noor/Qadar surface-to-surface anti-ship cruise missiles, mounted in box launchers on the roof of the upper deck level between the radar and the main mast pointing towards either sides. The single shot hit probability of the Noor, with a range of 170 km, is estimated to be as high as 98%. For anti-aircraft self-defense the ship is supposibly equipped with the Shahab Thaqeb, a reversed engineered version of the HQ-7, with an estimated range of 20km. The missiles are fired from an 8cell ''box'' launcher on the rear of the superstructure. If the ship carries any reloads is unknown as off this point. The ship also carries a Fateh 35mm gun with 8km aerial range, to provide a shipboard point-defense against incoming anti-ship missiles and aircraft. The main gun on the forecastle is a 76mm Fajr-27 gun. The gun is capable of firing at a rate of 85 rounds per minute at a range of more than 17 kilometers towards surface targets and 12 kilometers towards aerial targets. The Fajr-27 is a multi-purpose weapon, capable of dealing with surface, air, and onshore targets. The Valeyat has room on the roof of the upper deck level for installing two heavy machine guns in the future.

In the first official notes released by the Iranian Navy there are another 3 of these ships nearing completion, and should be in active service later this year. However, foreign intelligence has not found proof of only one more ship under construction, and thus cannot confirm this statement.

More images:
[ img ]
The Valeyat during construction
[ img ]
The Valeyat during sea-trials, spotted in June 2012, based on the different rear superstructure, the decision to place a SAM was not made till the very last moment.
[ img ]
A photo showing the bridge of the Valeyat, showing Iran's modernisation efforts
[ img ]
The Farj-27 76mm gun on the Valeyat in action

Despite all these improvements, the ship is still based off an very old design. However, Iranian officials stated that they had gathered valuable understanding and know-how in shipbuilding, and would within a year it would reveal its very own designed warships.

_________________
“The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person who is doing it.”


Last edited by Vossiej on September 1st, 2012, 11:12 am, edited 2 times in total.

Top
[Profile] [Quote]
seeker36340
Post subject: Re: A not so alternate universe involving Iran...Posted: August 26th, 2012, 3:15 pm
Offline
Posts: 616
Joined: June 9th, 2012, 10:21 pm
What sort of radar, FCS and ECM does the Moudge class have?


Top
[Profile] [Quote]
Vossiej
Post subject: Re: A not so alternate universe involving Iran...Posted: August 26th, 2012, 7:21 pm
Offline
Posts: 498
Joined: July 27th, 2010, 5:29 am
Location: The Netherlands
The ship is equipped with a Plessey AWS-1 long range air/surface search and tracking radar on the mast before the funnel, and on the main mast there are two indigenous firecontrol radars (IRI-FCR-1).
Furthermore the following systems are installed:
-Tactical aviation radar,
-Radar processor and Fire control systems,
-Subsurface Sonar and Echo Sounder,
-Surface and subsurface communication & Internal communication and computer network systems,
-ECM,
-Navigation systems,
-Electroptical and stabilizer and synchronizer systems,
-Alert system against chemical-microbial attacks and doors and aircondition system with impenetrability and ressistance capability during these attacks,
-Automated navigation system

But I will release more detailed information once the Iranian Navy officials will provide them ;)

_________________
“The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person who is doing it.”


Top
[Profile] [Quote]
Vossiej
Post subject: Re: A not so alternate universe involving Iran...Posted: September 1st, 2012, 11:09 am
Offline
Posts: 498
Joined: July 27th, 2010, 5:29 am
Location: The Netherlands
The ''Banjar/Kaman'' class

In the late 1970s the Shah's Navy ordered 12 'La combattante II' fast attack crafts from France, but as a result of the Islamic Revolution only 8 were delivered. At the time these were highly advanced and a new dangerous weapon platform against larger vessels. These vessels were originaly equipped with BGM-Harpoon missiles from the United States, but have been replaced by domestic weapons such as the C-802-based Noor. A few years ago the Iranian navy announced that they were to built four new ships all by themselves to show the world Iran's shipbuilding capabilities. This subclass was called the Sina class, and were almost identical to the original ships dating back from the 1970s.

On Saturday September 1st, the commander of the Iranian Navy, Admiral Habibollah Sayyari, announced the commissioning of the Iranian Navy's newest ship. The P235 Banjar is the lead ship of a class of 8 new warships. Presumably they will replace the original Kaman vessels that are now seriously showing signs of age. The new ship still show signs of the original design of the La Combattante vessels, but are clearly much more advanced and better armed than there predecessors. With the ship, also a new weapon was unveiled, the Farj-30 close-in-weapon-system. According to Iranian officials this weapon is capable of destroying all sorts of targets up to 5000m away with a rate of fire around 5,200rpm. Dispite it's close similarity with the Goalkeeper, Iranian officiels said the weapon was in no way similar to foreign weapons and was the result of Iran's advanced weapon industry. However, in the Netherlands a court-case is running against a employer of Thales Naval Nederland who is suspected of spying for the Iranian Government.

[ img ]

Class and type: Banjar class (Kaman subclass?)
Ships in class: 8
Displacement: 420 tons
Length: 54.8 m
Beam: 7.2 m
Draught: 1.9 m
Propulsion: 4 diesel engines, 2 shafts, 15,000 bhp,
Speed: 40 knots (official sources)
Complement: 20 (official sources)
Armament:
1x Fajr-27 76mm gun
8x Noor/Qader anti-ship missiles
1x Fajr-30 CIWS gun
Various small arms including portable SAM.

Aircraft carried: none

More images:
[ img ]
The P227 Shamshir, showing the layout of the original warships acquired in 1978 (Note the North Korean built submersible PT-boat in the front).
[ img ]
Unconfirmed image of Banjar class vessels under construction.
[ img ]
A picture showing the newest Qader missile, a missile capable of destroying a Burke-class ship with a single hit.

_________________
“The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person who is doing it.”


Top
[Profile] [Quote]
Vossiej
Post subject: Re: A not so alternate universe involving Iran...Posted: September 1st, 2012, 11:20 am
Offline
Posts: 498
Joined: July 27th, 2010, 5:29 am
Location: The Netherlands
News update - Iran Navy to build aircraft carriers

Iran's Deputy Navy Commander Captain Mansour Maqsoudlou has announced the country's plan to design and manufacture aircraft carriers.
The initial designs for building the carriers have been approved and the process of research, design and manufacture will start soon, Captain Maqsoudlou told IRNA on Wednesday. The Iranian commander pointed to the Navy's capacities to accomplish the task despite the time-consuming nature of aircraft carrier building. The Navy has set an agenda to produce vessels of different classes, some of which are being mass-produced and others being under study, Maqsoodlou pointed out. He reiterated the Navy's ability to upgrade the equipment and systems in its fleet. Since the victory of the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, the country has embarked on a campaign for self-sufficiency in the defense industry and launched numerous military projects. Last year in February, the Iranian Navy unveiled its first domestically-manufactured destroyer, Jamaran, in the waters of the Persian Gulf. The 1,420-ton destroyer, equipped with modern radars and other electronic warfare capabilities, patrols the southern waters of the Persian Gulf. In January, Iran successfully test-fired the mid-range, surface-to-air Hawk missile, and the Iranian Defense Ministry delivered new cruise missile systems to the Navy. The systems, designed and manufactured by Iranian experts, are capable of spotting and destroying different targets at sea.

_________________
“The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person who is doing it.”


Top
[Profile] [Quote]
Display: Sort by: Direction:
[Post Reply]  Page 1 of 1  [ 6 posts ]  Return to “Alternate Universe Designs”

Jump to: 

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: RegiaMarina1939 and 59 guests


The team | Delete all board cookies | All times are UTC


cron
Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Limited
[ GZIP: Off ]