IRGC Navy
Encyclopedia
| Navy of the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution | |
|---|---|
| Strength | |
| Manpower | 20,000 |
| Boats | 1,500 |
The Navy of the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution or Revolutionary Guards' Navy consists of 20,000 men and 1,500 boats and fast attack boats separate and in parallel to the regular Navy of Iran.
It is also known to operate helicopters in support of maritime operations.
Watercraft
Thondar ClassType 021 class missile boat
China first received a single unit of Soviet Osa-I class missile boat in January 1965, and 4 more in 1966 through 1967 and the last 2 in 1968. Eventually the Jiangnan Building Factory built the Chinese version as Type 021 class missile boat at a rate of 10 boats per year with several different...
Missile Boats (10) IPS-18 Tir Class Torpedo Boats (10) IPS-16 Peykaap Class Torpedo Boats (10) Boghammar Patrol Boats Zodiac Commando Boats Type Zolfaqhar Speedboats Missile & Torpedo Boats (12), based on the Bladerunner 51 speedboat
Coastal Anti-Ship Missiles
NoorNoor (missile)
Noor is a long-range anti-ship cruise missile manufactured by Iran, based on the Chinese C-802.Noor has a range of 200km and is powered by Toloue-4, an Iranian version of the French Microturbo TRI 60 engine...
, based on the Chinese C-802
C-802
The Yingji-82 or YJ-82 is a Chinese anti-ship missile first unveiled in 1989 by the China Haiying Electro-Mechanical Technology Academy , also known as the Third Academy...
Kowsar
Kowsar
Kowsar is a medium-range, land-based anti-ship missile made by Iran. It can defeat electronic jamming systems and "cannot be thrown off course", according to Iranian officials....
, based on the Chinese C-701
C-701
The C-701 is a Chinese missile that is roughly comparable to the American AGM-65 A/B/D/H Maverick air-to-surface missile. However, the C-701 is smaller and has less than half the weight of the AGM-65 A/B/D/H Maverick.-Design:...
Kowsar
Kowsar
Kowsar is a medium-range, land-based anti-ship missile made by Iran. It can defeat electronic jamming systems and "cannot be thrown off course", according to Iranian officials....
, based on the Chinese TL-10
TL-10
The TL-10 or Sky Dragon - 10 is a light anti-ship missile unveiled in the Zhuhai Airshow in 2004 in China, and it is the Chinese equivalent of the French MM-15TT / AS-15TT light anti-ship missile developed by Aérospatiale.-History:The development of the TL program appeared to have started in the...
Nasr-1
Nasr-1
Nasr-1 Is a domestically-manufactured highly accurate Iranian short range cruise missile capable of evading radar. It has the capability of destroying 3,000-tonne targets such as warships. Nasr-1 missile can be launched from both inland bases and offshore military vessels and being modified to be...
, based on the Chinese TL-6
TL-6
-History:The development of the TL program appeared to have started in the mid-1990s and were originally identified as the FL-8 and FL-9 under China National Aero Technology Import & Export Company...
HY-2 Silkworm
Facilities
It is believed that the IRGC's Navy has facilities on the following islands:- Farsi IslandFarsi IslandFarsi Island is one of the Iranian islands in the Persian Gulf. There is an IRGC Navy base on this Island. The island is completely restricted to public, due to top secret governmental activities....
- Sirri IslandSirri IslandSirri Island , is an island in the Persian Gulf belonging to Iran.Sirri island is situated 76 km from Bandar-e Lengeh and 50 km east of Abu Musa island. The island is one of six in the Abu Musâ Island Group ....
- Abu MusaAbu MusaAbu Musa is a 12-km² island in the eastern Persian Gulf, part of a six-island archipelago near the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz. The island is administered by Iran as part of the Iranian province of Hormozgan, but is also claimed by the United Arab Emirates .Abu Musa's inhabitants call it...
- Larak IslandLarak IslandLarak Island is an island off the coast of Iran in the Persian Gulf which has been one of Iran's major oil export point since 1987...
Notable operations
On 21 June 2004, eight sailors and Royal MarinesRoyal Marines
The Corps of Her Majesty's Royal Marines, commonly just referred to as the Royal Marines , are the marine corps and amphibious infantry of the United Kingdom and, along with the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary, form the Naval Service...
were seized by forces of the Revolutionary Guards' Navy while training Iraqi river patrol personnel in the Persian Gulf
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...
.
On 23 March 2007, fifteen sailors and Royal Marines
Royal Marines
The Corps of Her Majesty's Royal Marines, commonly just referred to as the Royal Marines , are the marine corps and amphibious infantry of the United Kingdom and, along with the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary, form the Naval Service...
from HMS Cornwall
HMS Cornwall (F99)
The sixth HMS Cornwall was a Batch 3 Type 22 frigate of the British Royal Navy. She was the first Batch 3 to be built, and the last to decommission...
were seized by forces of the Revolutionary Guards' Navy in the Persian Gulf
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...
.
- Iranian boats 'harass' U.S. NavyIRGC NavyNavy of the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic RevolutionStrengthManpower20,000Boats1,500The Navy of the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution or Revolutionary Guards' Navy consists of 20,000 men and 1,500 boats and fast attack boats separate and in parallel to the regular Navy of...
On 7 January 2008, US officials claimed five Iranian speedboats 'harassed' US navy vessels in the Persian Gulf
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...
. IRGC speedboats made threatening moves and in one case even came within 180 meters of US warships. The U.S. Navy claims to have also received a radio transmission from Iranian boats saying: "I am coming at you. You will explode in a couple of minutes". After this US ships were said to have taken up their gun positions and were ready to open fire at one of the boats when the Iranians turned away and one of the Iranian speedboats (allegedly) dropped white boxes into the water in front of the U.S. ships, it was not clear what was in the boxes.
Iranian officials and military commanders later downplayed the incidents as normal and denied to have sent those radio transmissions. After the US released a video showing Iranian speedboats swarming US ships in the Strait of Hormuz, Iran released their own video of the incident after suggesting the US video was staged.
Some Iranian analysts defend the Iranian government's version of the incident by pointing out that no suicide bomber would want to escape from death, because seeking death is the nature of the suicide bomber. Had the Iranian boats seriously intended to blow themselves up with the American vessels, they would not have withdrew in the way the Pentagon footage displayed it to be.