The ''Nahang'' ( fa, نهنگ, lit=Whale) is an
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkm ...
ian-made class of
midget submarine
A midget submarine (also called a mini submarine) is any submarine under 150 tons, typically operated by a crew of one or two but sometimes up to six or nine, with little or no on-board living accommodation. They normally work with mother ships, ...
designed for shallow water operations. Only one
prototype of this class is known to be completed, although its characteristics have remained unclear.
History
Iran had shown interest in midget submarines in the 1980s.
According to the ''Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships'', Iran assembled a midget in
Bandar Abbas
Bandar Abbas or Bandar-e ‘Abbās ( fa, , , ), is a port city and capital of Hormozgān Province on the southern coast of Iran, on the Persian Gulf. The city occupies a strategic position on the narrow Strait of Hormuz (just across from Musa ...
that was completed in 1987 in an unsuccessful attempt.
Iran reportedly purchased a second midget of another design from
North Korea
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and ...
, delivered in 1988.
It is alleged that by 1993, nine midget submarines –able to displace 76 tons surfaced and 90 tons submerged, with a top speed between and – were imported from North Korea.
Existence of ''Nahang'' was first known in April 2006.
On 6 March 2006, Iranian state television announced that ''Nahang 1'' has been commissioned into the
Southern Fleet. Later that year in late August, she participated in the third phase of Zarbat-e Zolfaghar wargame.
Two other submarines in the class were allegedly planned, but building further units is considered unlikely.
In April 2017,
Bellingcat
Bellingcat (stylised as bell¿ngcat) is a Netherlands-based investigative journalism group that specialises in fact-checking and open-source intelligence (OSINT). It was founded by British journalist and former blogger Eliot Higgins in July 20 ...
reported that for the first time in years, satellite imagery suggests ''Nahang'' had been deployed for a mission.
Description
There is not much confidently known about characteristics of the class.
According to ''
Jane's Fighting Ships
''Jane's Fighting Ships'' by Janes Information Services is an annual reference book of information on all the world's warships arranged by nation, including information on ships' names, dimensions, armaments, silhouettes and photographs, etc. Ea ...
'', the class displaces when at the surface and while submerged.
Alternate estimates for surfaced and submerged displacement are and respectively
while the number given goes as high as .
[, ]
''Jane's'' mentions the approximate dimensions as for length, with a
beam
Beam may refer to:
Streams of particles or energy
* Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy
** Laser beam
* Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles
**Charged particle beam, a spatially localized g ...
of and a
draft
Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to:
Watercraft dimensions
* Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel
* Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail
* Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a ves ...
of .
and
are top speeds reported for the submarine. ''Nahang'' is reportedly unarmed and not fitted with torpedoes,
however there are contradicting reports suggesting it has a pair of 533mm
torpedo tubes
A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes.
There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed abo ...
in drop collars and can carry and lay four MDM-6 or EM-52
naval mine
A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, any ve ...
s.
''Nahang'' may be utilized as a
mothership
A mother ship, mothership or mother-ship is a large vehicle that leads, serves, or carries other smaller vehicles. A mother ship may be a maritime ship, aircraft, or spacecraft.
Examples include bombers converted to carry experimental aircr ...
for
swimmer delivery vehicle
A diver propulsion vehicle (DPV), also known as an underwater propulsion vehicle, sea scooter, underwater scooter, or swimmer delivery vehicle (SDV) by armed forces, is an item of diving equipment used by scuba divers to increase range under ...
s
and a platform for
special operation
Special operations (S.O.) are military activities conducted, according to NATO, by "specially designated, organized, selected, trained, and equipped forces using unconventional techniques and modes of employment". Special operations may include ...
s.
The submarine has no
sonar
Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigate, measure distances ( ranging), communicate with or detect objects on ...
on the report of ''Jane's'',
but another account suggests that she is equipped with active/passive sonar on her
bow.
The machinery installed for propulsion is unknown.
Other apparatus reportedly installed include a
mast
Mast, MAST or MASt may refer to:
Engineering
* Mast (sailing), a vertical spar on a sailing ship
* Flagmast, a pole for flying a flag
* Guyed mast, a structure supported by guy-wires
* Mooring mast, a structure for docking an airship
* Radio mast ...
with
electronic warfare support capabilities (similar to Russian-made 'Stop Light' type) and
surface search and
navigation
Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navigation, ...
radar.
See also
*
List of submarine classes in service
The list of submarine classes in service includes all submarine classes currently in service with navies or other armed forces worldwide. For surface combatants, see the list of naval ship classes in service.
Ballistic missile submarines
C ...
*
List of naval ship classes of Iran
This is a list of naval ship classes that were in service with the Imperial Iranian Navy, or are still in service with the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy or the Navy of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Some projects, that were not built or ...
*
List of military equipment manufactured in Iran
In recent years, the Iranian government states that it has self-sufficiency in essential military hardware and defense systems.
Tehran established an arms development program during the Iran–Iraq War to counter the weapons embargo imposed on ...
References
External links
''Nahang''-class Midget Submarine at GlobalSecurity.org9xx ''Nahang'' - 2007 at cmano-db.com
{{Weapons of Iran
Submarine classes of the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy
Midget submarines
Experimental submarines
Ships built by Marine Industries Organization