Joke of the Day: "Iran's navy unveils 'suicide drone'"

Iran has someone with a really droll sense of humor as they announce troll the West with a weapon that is a reversion to World War II - Iran's navy unveils 'suicide drone'

Iran's navy on Wednesday released a photo of what's being called a "suicide drone" that can be loaded with explosive materials and deliberately crashed into targets at sea and on land.

The announcement was carried by Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency. While it said the drone "can carry payloads of explosives for combat missions" and collide with the target and destroy it, (whether) a vessel or an onshore command center" it also noted that the drone's primary purpose is for maritime surveillance.

It "has not been designed to be armed with missiles," Tasnim said.

The small, pilot-less aircraft can nevertheless fly for up to 4 hours and has a range of about 600 miles. It can fly as high as 3,000 feet and as low as 20 inches above the Earth's surface. Its camera can be used at night and in "damp sea conditions."

Oh, my goodness, not those "damp sea conditions." Wait, I thought that pretty much describes what "sea" is all about . . .

Lest you forget kamikaze planes and boats and regular anti-ship cruise missiles and anti-ship guns and stuff like that, you might recall the U.S.Navy's remotely piloted bombers used in WWII:

1944 - Special Air Task Force (STAG-1) commences operations with drones, controlled by TBM Avenger aircraft, against Japanese in Southwestern Pacific.

And, since 1903 or so, the U.S. Navy has been pretty much worried about things going after ships that go faster than 120 knots.

Fun with Iran: Some Iranian Republican Guard Navy "General" Says "US Terrified by IRGC's Deployment in Persian Gulf"

Hot off the steaming presses of the Iraninan state-controlled media site Farsnews comes this howler of a story:

The US forces deployed in the Persian Gulf are afraid of the presence

of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps in the same waters, a senior commander said, adding that the IRGC enjoys full intelligence supremacy and might in the region.
"The IRGC's might and power has grown to the extent that the Americans are terrified when they come across our vessels and this powerful presence exists in the sea, sky, space and land," Commander of the IRGC Navy's Third Zone Brigadier General Mansour Ravankar told FNA on Wednesday.

Noting that the IRGC Navy uses all its defensive capacities, vessels and quick-reaction forces to defend the country, he underlined the IRGC's full intelligence superiority in the region.

"The IRGC Navy is present in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz region with full power," General Ravankar said.

In relevant remarks in March, Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Navy Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi underlined Iran's deterrence power, and said 100 IRGC vessels are always deployed in the Persian Gulf to confront any threats.

"100 IRGC vessels are present in the Persian Gulf round the clock everyday and the Americans see our vessels everywhere they look," Fadavi said, addressing a gathering in the Central province of Isfahan.

He said the US has come to the conclusion that any action against the Islamic Revolution will be rather harmful than serving its interests, "therefore, they don’t dare to take any action and this shows the Islamic Revolution's deterrence power which is increasing everyday".

Not sure "terrified" is exactly the right word, but so it goes.

Meanwhile, there is the obligatory report of the Iranian Navy chasing pirates (which no other country is reporting seeing) from attacks on Iranian shipping:

Alborz (AP photo)

Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari announced that the country's 40th flotilla of warships has repelled pirates' attack on an Iranian ship in free waters after fierce clashes.
"On Saturday, 7 pirate boats attacked an Iranian ship but they received the crushing response of the 40th fleet of warships," Sayyari said on Monday.

The Iranian Navy's 40th fleet of warships left Bandar Abbas port, in Southern Hormuzgan province, for the international waters on April 2 to protect the country's cargo ships and oil tankers against pirate attacks.

The Navy's 40th fleet, comprising Tonb logistic warship and Alborz destroyer, is tasked with conducting anti-piracy patrols in the high seas and the Gulf of Aden.

Yawn. The names change, the baloney does not.

By the way, Alborz recently celebrated its 45th anniversary since its 1971 commissioning. Congrats, old timer!

As for Tonb, here's a video of it joining the Iranian fleet in 2015:

Oh my gosh! Iran's Navy to threaten to sail into the Atlantic Ocean

The ever awesome Iranian navy is venturing forth to touch the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, thus striking dread and fear in the hearts and minds of  . . . well, exactly who is impressed? Story here.

Must be intended for the naive and clueless, because a force like that described is mostly a threat to international navigation.

These Boots Are Made for Shaking: "Iran Navy to build aircraft carriers"

A free aircraft carrier design to the Islamic Republic of Iran from Eagle1

Reader Rick sends this link 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.

***
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.

Rick notes, "Of course their definition of "Aircraft Carrier" might not match ours. I visualize a 20' Boston Whaler flying off some R/c airplanes - "Those are UAV's don't you know...""

Whatever.  I suggest they start small. Smaller targets are more challenging.

Iran: Atlantic Deployment Off U.S. Coast? Come right ahead. We'll be here waiting.

Something was making my "SWO sense"* tingle, and my humor alerts were ringing, and then, well then, I read this- Iran says could deploy navy near U.S. coast:

Iran raised the prospect on Tuesday of sending military ships close to the United States' Atlantic coast, in what would be a major escalation of tensions between the long-standing adversaries.

"Like the arrogant powers that are present near our marine borders, we will also have a powerful presence close to American marine borders," the head of the Navy, Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said, according to the official IRNA news agency.

Speaking at a ceremony marking the 31st anniversary of the start of the 1980-1988 war with Iraq, Sayyari gave no details of when such a deployment could happen or the number or type of vessels to be used.

Arrogant SOB that I am, I was doing one of those rolling on the floor laughing demonstrations (which disrupted my workplace as you might guess).

This "announcement" (propaganda piece) just gets better as I read various analyes (e.g. here) of the proposed venture to the new world, many of take a more excited tone than I can about a fifth rate naval power venturing across the seas.

More. Later. Maybe much later, when the great "Iranian Caribbean Fleet" gets underway.


*Surface Warfare Officer sense - sort of an ESP-like Spidey sense thingie