Tel Aviv: The ship IRIS Shahid Bagheri was a major part of the Iranian effort to upgrade its navy long range capabilities – a drone carrier. The US Navy has destroyed it.
The IRIS Shahid Bagheri, a 41,978-ton converted container ship, served as Iran’s first dedicated IRGC Navy drone carrier for UAV/helicopter ops, fast-attack craft, and missiles beyond coastal limits.
It carried up to 60 UAVs like Mohajer-6, Shahed-136, Ababil-3, JAS-313, plus Mi-17 helicopters, 8 Noor/Qader anti-ship missiles, Kowsar-222 SAMs, and EW systems for 22,000 nm endurance.
The sinking limits Iran’s sea-based drone swarms, ISR, and power projection, forcing reliance on shore assets and exposing converted merchant ship’s vulnerabilities to precision strikes. It shifts Iranian tactics to coastal missiles/mines, altering Gulf naval balance while land-based threats persist.
The sinking of the ship is part of the US effort to dramatically reduce the Iranian navy’s capabilities used in the past and in the current war to block the Strait of Hormuz.
The Strait of Hormuz is a strait between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. It provides the only sea passage from the Persian Gulf to the open ocean and is one of the world’s most strategically important choke points.
-The writer is an Israel-based freelance journalist. The views expressed are of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of Raksha Anirveda
