Iran’s New Drone Ship ‘Shahid Bagheri’ Spotted In The Persian Gulf

Iran’s new ship with the capability to launch drones has been revealed to the world by satellite images reviewed by Maxar Technologies which were shared with The Hill.

Named Shahid Bagheri, the drone ship is anchored at the shore of the Iranian Naval Port of Bandar Abbas in the Persian Gulf.

It was a container ship initially and was modified into a drone carrier ship for Iranian Naval Forces.

Shahid Bagheri left its home port at the end of November and is conducting its first sea trial, per Maxar which added that it also has a drone covered by a net on its deck.

Two other similarly modified vessels, Shahid Mahdavi and Shahid Roudaki are accompanying the drone ship, Bagheri, as seen in the images.

Additional pictures detail how the vessels were built and modified at an Iranian shipyard, including the addition of a ski-jump ramp and angled flight deck that can launch and recover drones.

The news came amidst several drones buzzing across Northern New Jersey and New York since November, including near sensitive U.S military sites.

Rep. Jeff Van Drew said that an Iranian mothership situated off the East Coast was responsible for drones over his state. The Pentagon and White House denied that any foreign entity is behind the sighting of drones in New Jersey.

The Iranian Drone Ship shows that Iran has the capability of launching drones but the ship is situated thousands of miles away from the coast of the U.S, quite out of range even for a long-range drone.

Drones were also seen close to U.S military areas across the country and also at bases which house American troops in the U.K.

References: News18, NDTV

Source: Maritime Shipping News