Days after showing off ‘Gaza’ drone, Iran unveils its first drone carrier
Ryan Bohl, senior Middle East and North Africa analyst at the RANE network, doubted Shahid Baqeri’s long-range capabilities, noting that it cannot operate far from Iran’s shores if not accompanied with support fleet or advanced anti-air defenses.
Iranian-made unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), the Shahed-136, are pictured during a military rally in downtown Tehran, Iran, on January 10, 2025. The IRGC spokesperson says on Monday, January 6, that the military rally named Rahian-e-Quds (Passengers of Al-Aqsa) includes 110,000 IRGC members. (Photo by Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
BEIRUT — Iran this week unveiled its first indigenous drone carrier, dubbed Shahid (Martyr) Baqeri according to Iran’s state-run media Islamic Republic News Agency.
The carrier joined the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps Navy (IRGC) fleet in a Thursday ceremony held in the city of Bandar Abbas on the shore of the strategic strait of Hurmuz in the Arabian Gulf.
The vessel is expected to conduct drone and helicopter naval missions, according to the announcement. Iran is the second country in the Middle East to develop and launch a drone carrier after Turkey, which began operating its drone carrier, the TCG Anadolu, in April 2023.
“The Martyr Baqeri drone carrier is capable of carrying several squadrons of unmanned aerial vehicles, launching and landing unmanned fighter jets, deploying various reconnaissance and combat drones, launching and recovering various light and fast combat vessels, as well as carrying and deploying various combat and support helicopters,” IRCG Navy Commander Rear Admiral Alireza Tangsiri said, according to Iran’s partially state-owned news agency Tasnim.
He added that the carrier will enhance Tehran’s “defensive capabilities and deterrence of the Islamic Republic of Iran in distant waters and in safeguarding the nation’s national interests.”
The carrier’s operational range is 22,000 nautical miles, and its runway is 180 meters long, according to Tasnim.
Ryan Bohl, senior Middle East and North Africa analyst at the RANE network, told Breaking Defense today that this carrier will add brown-water power projection capabilities for Tehran, “particularly through the Gulf and around Yemen and the Red Sea. Having an independent drone platform based at sea will also improve Iran’s surveillance and intelligence capabilities in theaters in which it has strategic interests like Yemen.”
He added that the most immediate impact for Iran’s strategic posture will be in “surveillance capability where drones will help Iran provide proxies with better information for potential targeting missions of mutual rivals like intelligence cooperation with the Houthis to strike Israeli linked shipping or rivals in the Yemeni civil War.”
However, Bohl doubted Shahid Baqeri’s long-range capabilities, noting that it cannot operate far from Iran’s shores if not accompanied with support fleet or advanced anti-air defenses.
The announcement comes days after Iran’s operational long-range drone dubbed “Gaza,” took part in a military exercise, and few months after Tehran and Jerusalem exchanged a barrage of missiles and drones.
While Iran’s navy and the IRGC navy operate old and outdated vessels, Behnam Ben Taleblu, senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Breaking Defense today that Tehran has a history in converting container vessels into warships.
Ben Taleblu voiced concerns, saying “The Islamic Republic would not be converting tankers into drone carriers if it did not intend on making its regional drone power a global one.”
“What makes the Shahid Baqeri unique is that it is billed by Iran as being exclusively used for drones making it the first drone carrier for the IRGC Navy,” he said.
