(Institute for the Study of War) Joshua Himes - In 2007 Iran's two naval forces underwent a reorganization. Under the new structure, the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy (IRIN) will patrol the Caspian Sea, the Gulf of Oman, and the area from Bandar Abbas, near the Strait of Hormuz, to Pasa Bandar, near Pakistan. Currently the IRIN consists of approximately 200 ships and 18,000 personnel. While many of its surface ships hail from the shah's era, recent subsurface and cruise missile procurement, as well as a growing domestic production capacity, have increased its capabilities. IRIN capabilities include the Russian Kilo class submarine (three units in hand, three expected as early as 2015) and the Ghadir/Yono class mini-sub (eleven units in hand, nine more expected over the next two to three years), which has been domestically produced at increasing rates over recent years. Meanwhile, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) has been constituted as a coastal defense force largely focused on asymmetric and mobile combat capabilities in the Persian Gulf. The IRGCN consists of 20,000 personnel and up to several thousand ships and small craft. Recent development has expanded the IRGCN's capabilities, equipping it with fast attack boats, torpedoes, and anti-ship cruise missiles. Additional naval developments include anti-ship ballistic missiles (range 250-300km). Iran has increased its stockpiles of C-802 anti-ship missiles, which appear to have been reverse engineered from Chinese models and then domestically reproduced. U.S. Navy Commander Joshua Himes served as the 2010-11 U.S. Navy fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) during which time he wrote this report. He previously served as a deputy director for intelligence in the National Military Command Center in the Directorate of Intelligence on the Pentagon's Joint Staff.
2011-10-10 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive