DM: Iran to Use Fateh Submarine Soon
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Minister of Defense Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan announced Wednesday that Iran’s new advanced home-made submarine, Fateh, will be launched within the next 100 days.
“Fateh submarine and a number of air defense achievements are on the agenda of the government for the first 100 days, which will be God-wiling achieved,” Dehqan told reporters on the sidelines of a cabinet meeting here in Tehran today.
Congratulating the country’s Armed Forces on the occasion of the National Day of Defense Industry (August 22), Dehqan said that the ministry will inform public on the country’s latest defense industry achievements in due time.
Iranian Navy commander said on August 18 that his forces are likely to unveil a new advanced submarine called Fateh (Conqueror) in the upcoming ’Velayat 92’ naval wargames.
“The Velayat 92 wargames will be held ... in the second half of the current (Iranian) year (September 23, 2013 - March 21, 2014)," Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said.
With the new submarine, dubbed as Fateh, the Iranian Navy will be equipped with the full range of light, medium and heavy submarines.
Speaking to Tasnim in August about production of Fateh submarine, Lieutenant Commander of the Iranian Navy Admiral Gholam Reza Biqam said, “The construction phases of this submarine are underway at the Defense Industries Organization and will be completed in the near future.”
Biqam expressed hope that the 527-ton Fateh submarine would soon join Iran's defense forces.
The new submarine is highly mobile and can move fast in deep waters. It is also capable of firing torpedoes and planting mines.
The 527- ton Fateh submarine is considered a medium undersurface vessel whose weigh at depth increases to 593 tons. The submarine is equipped with an advanced sonic radar system for identifying enemy vessels and uses missile defense system.
