Navy of the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution
| Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution |
|
|
| Command |
| Supreme Leader of Iran |
| Senior officers |
| Military Branches |
| Aerospace Force |
| Ground Force |
| Navy |
| Quds Force |
| Basij |
| Intelligence agencies |
| Intelligence Organization |
| Intelligence Protection Organization |
| Personnel |
| Ranks insignia |
| Facilities |
|---|
| Imam Hossein University |
| Baqiyatallah University |
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The Navy of the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution or Revolutionary Guards' Navy (Persian: نیروی دریایی سپاه پاسداران انقلاب اسلامی), acronymed NEDSA (Persian: ندسا), consists of 20,000 men and 1,500 boats and fast attack boats[1] separate from the regular Navy of Artesh[2] assuming control over Iranian maritime operations in the Persian Gulf.[3] IRGC’s Navy has steadily improved its capabilities to support unconventional warfare and defend Iran’s offshore facilities, coastlines, and islands in the Persian Gulf.[4]
Contents
Overview
IRGC Navy and Artesh Navy overlap functions and areas of responsibility, but they are distinct in terms of how they are trained and equipped— and more importantly also in how they fight. The Revolutionary Guards Navy has a large inventory of small fast attack craft, and specializes in asymmetric hit-and-run tactics. It is more akin to a guerrilla force at sea, and maintains large arsenals of coastal defense and anti-ship cruise missiles and mines.[3] It has also a Takavar (special force) unit, called Sepah Navy Special Force (S.N.S.F.).
Equipment
Watercraft: Total 50+
- Thondar Class Missile Boats (10)[2]
- Tir II (IPS 18) Torpedo Boats (10)
- IPS-16 Peykaap Class Zolfaghar Torpedo Boats (10)
- Boghammar Patrol Boats
- Zodiac Commando Boats
- Type Seraj Speedboats Missile & Torpedo Boats (12), based on the Bladerunner 51 speedboat
Aircraft
Coastal Anti-Ship Missiles
- Noor, based on the Chinese C-802 (+)
- Kowsar, based on the Chinese C-701 (+)
- Kowsar, based on the Chinese TL-10 (+)
- Nasr-1, based on the Chinese TL-6 (+)
- HY-2 Silkworm (+)
Facilities
It is believed that the IRGC's Navy has facilities on the following islands:[6]
Notable engagements
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On 21 June 2004, eight sailors and Royal Marines were seized by forces of the Revolutionary Guards' Navy while training Iraqi river patrol personnel in the Persian Gulf.[7] On 23 March 2007, fifteen sailors and Royal Marines from HMS Cornwall were seized by forces of the Revolutionary Guards' Navy in the Persian Gulf.[8]
On 7 January 2008, US officials claimed five Iranian speedboats 'harassed' US navy vessels in the Persian Gulf. 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.[9] 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.[10]
On 12 January 2016, 10 American sailors were apprehended by IRGC officials off the coast of Farsi Island which doubles as a naval installation for the IRGC. The American sailors were on a training mission when they experienced a mechanical error in the vessel. During this time the vessel drifted into Iranian territorial waters spurring IRGC naval units to respond and apprehend the sailors and vessel. Secretary of State John Kerry engaged in a phone call with Iranian officials to diffuse the situation. Iranian officials said that the sailors were in custody, but would be freed within hours understanding the incident was a mistake. [11]
Maneuvers
- On February 25, 2015, was conducted war games exercise (Great Prophet IX) in the general area of Strait of Hormuz in Larak Island, Persian Gulf.[12][13][14]
References
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "The Consequences of a Strike on Iran: The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy" Global Bearings, 15 December 2011.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- ↑ CNN Iranian boats 'harass' U.S. Navy, officials say 7 January 2008
- ↑ Fars News Pentagon Video on Iran-US Confrontation a Clumsy Fake 9 January 2008
- ↑ NBC NEWS [1] 12 January 2016
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Navy of the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution. |
 Military forces of Iran |
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