[World News] Iran's first Caspian sub will be active in 2015

The Fateh-class submarine launched at Bostanu was seen briefly in an Iranian television montage about the country's military achievements in February. Source: IRIB

A submarine Iran is building at Bandar Anzali on the Caspian Sea will be operational in 2015, according to military sources cited by the Azerbaijan Press Agency (APA).

In November 2013, IHS Jane's published satellite imagery that revealed the submarine was being constructed at Bandar Anzali and that a second, similarly sized boat had already been launched at the Bostanu shipyard on the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian officials have said a new class of 500-tonne submarines called the Fateh is under construction. Although the launch of the first-of-class has not been officially announced, in February Iranian television broadcast footage of it being launched at Bostanu.

The one at Bandar Anzali will represent a significant new threat as it will be the first naval submarine to ever operate in the Caspian.

The APA reported that it is 50 m long, was being built by a Chinese company, and would be operated by the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) rather than the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy (IRIN).

The boat cannot be seen in more recent satellite imagery taken on 9 May by Airbus Defence and Space, presumably because it has been moved into a construction shed.

  ★ Jane's