Iranian authorities unveiled the country’s first intelligence ship, Zagros 313, equipped with “electronic sensors” for signal intelligence and surveillance.
“The ship ‘Zagros’ will be the Iranian Navy’s watchful eye in the depths of the seas and oceans,” Navy Commander Admiral Shahram Irani was quoted as saying by media.
According to state media, Iran has announced that the Zagros, claimed to be an indigenously developed vessel, will soon join the Iranian Navy’s fleet. Press TV described the ship as Tehran’s latest and most advanced vessel, designed for combat operations and intelligence missions. The ship is also equipped with a hangar for helicopter operations.
Reports from Iranian media portray the vessel as combat-ready and classify it as a destroyer. For instance, Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Mohammad Bagheri was quoted by Tasnim news agency as calling the vessel as destroyer. However, TurDef would like to emphasise that referring to such vessels, which lack combat capabilities, as corvettes or destroyers is misleading. For instance, although Turkiye’s intelligence ship, TCG Ufuk (A-591), shares the same hull structure as Ada-class corvettes, it is not classified as a corvette. A vessel must meet some requirements to qualify as a corvette; it must serve under naval forces and be equipped with combat systems suitable for its mission. The Turkish Naval Forces Command manages TCG Ufuk (A-591). However, the ship acts according to the Turkish Intelligence Organisation’s orders. As a general rule, intelligence ships do not feature combat systems. According to actual photos, the ship does not own them.
Iran Navy Receives First Signal Intelligence Ship ‘Zagros’
