A photo of Shahid Mahdavi in ​​Bandar Abbas went viral on Iranian social media in November. Iran’s sectarian navy is converting a former commercial container ship into an unmanned aircraft carrier. In a dry dock close the entrance to the Persian Inlet. According to satellite and open-source photos published last week by  H I.

Iranian Revolutionary Guards naval ship Shahid Mahdavi is a former Iranian-flagged container ship. That is being converted into a warship for transporting helicopters and unmanned fixed-wing aircraft at the Iranian Shipbuilding and Marine Industrial Complex (ISOICO). Bandar Abbas close the Strait of Hormuz, concurring to a November photo published by Sutton on Monday. Shahid Mahadavi has been in dry dock since at least May. Aand she is being converted from a merchant ship to a warship, the Maritime Administration reported. New photos show the deck of a merchant ship being removed prior to installing an aircraft launch surface.

 “The modification added a large cantilevered flight deck on the port side.

It is unclear at this time whether an overhang will also be added on the starboard side,” Sutton wrote. “The fact that the superstructure straddles the original deck means that any traditional aircraft carrier the layout is not possible. The angle of the additional flight deck is also non-traditional. Perhaps this is because the superstructure straddles the original deck. A social media photo by Shahid Mahdavi suggests the development of an calculated flight deck.

Media Verdict

H I Sutton Photo IllustrationIran has created a assortment of drones, including the explosive-laden Shahid 136 drone, which has been involved in a series of attacks on merchant ships in the Middle East. Behnam Ben Taleburu, an Iran expert at the Establishment for Defense of Popular governments, told on Tuesday  that the photos are consistent with Iran’s explicit use of the ship in local reporting.

 “Iranian media has talked about it being used to store drones to increase the country’s long-range strike capabilities,” he told News. The world should consider how Iran plans to use merchant ships and tankers to expand its long-range strike capabilities. Following the U.S.”

Model of expeditionary naval bases, the Iranian Navy and The Iranian Navy have modified commercial ships used by Iranians. About international sanctions. Perhaps the best known of the converted merchant ships is her IRINS Makran, a former petrochemical tanker converted by Iran into a warship. Last year, Makran and the Iranian navy frigate Ailins Sahand were stationed in the Atlantic Ocean for four months and sailed to the  Baltic Sea, representing Tehran at a Russian Navy review ceremony. Shahid Mahdavi could hit the market as early as this year, Sutton wrote. A second drone carrier, Shahid Bagheri, will join Shahid Mahadavi.