Ghadir (Persian: غدیر) is a class of midget submarines built by Iran specifically for cruising within the shallow waters of the Persian Gulf.[1] It is named after Ghadir Khumm, a holy place to Shia Muslims.
On 24 November 2007 Iranian rear-admiral Habibollah Sayyari announced: "A home-made destroyer called Jamaran and a home-made submarine of Ghadir class will launch operation on November 28." [1] He also said that the submarine is equipped with the latest military and technological equipment and that its capabilities are equal to that of foreign types. Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei was quoted saying: "Today, you have been able to design and build many of the military requirements. We have become self-sufficient from other countries." to Iran's navy commanders on the day the submarine was launched.[2]
New Ghadir submarines were delivered to the Iranian navy on June 2009, August 2010[3][4], August 2011[5], November 2011[6] and February 2012[7]. While Ghadir resembles the North Korean Sang-O class submarine, it is probably better described as a littoral submarine.[8] The Ghadir class submarines are capable of firing the Hoot supercavitating rocket torpedoes.
[edit] Submarines in the class
| Submarine |
Launched |
Status |
| Ghadir 942 |
Nov 2007 |
In Service |
| Ghadir 943 |
Aug 2008 |
In Service |
| Ghadir 944 |
Nov 2008 |
In Service |
| Ghadir 945 |
Jun 2009 |
In Service |
| Ghadir 946 |
Jun 2009 |
In Service |
| Ghadir 947 |
Jun 2009 |
In Service |
| Ghadir 948 |
Jun 2009 |
In Service |
| Ghadir 949 |
Aug 2010 |
In Service |
| Ghadir 950 |
Aug 2010 |
In Service |
| Ghadir 951 |
Aug 2010 |
In Service |
| Ghadir 952 |
Aug 2011 |
In Service |
| Ghadir 953 |
Aug 2011 |
In Service |
| Ghadir 954 |
Aug 2011 |
In Service |
| Ghadir 955 |
Aug 2011 |
In Service |
| Ghadir 956 |
Nov 2011 |
In Service |
| Ghadir 957 |
Nov 2011 |
In Service |
| Ghadir 958 |
Nov 2011 |
In Service |
| Ghadir 959 |
Feb 2012 |
In Service |
| Ghadir 960 |
Feb 2012 |
In Service |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
