Tehran: US president Donald Trump has claimed near total decimation of Iran’s naval capabilities, but is reluctant to send his country’s warships into the Strait of Hormuz to escort commercial vessels through the narrow passage.
One of the possible reasons could be the Ghadir class of midget submarines operated by the Iranian Navy that are extremely dangerous and difficult to detect.
These midget subs are specifically designed for the shallow, noisy environment of the Persian Gulf, where larger conventional submarines often struggle to operate, as reported by News18.
Iran reportedly operates about 20 of these submarines that are about 29 metres long and weigh only 120-150 tonnes, barely one-tenth the size of a conventional attack submarine. Their small displacement and diesel-electric propulsion make them nearly “invisible” to sonar systems optimized for deeper waters.
The Ghadir can operate in waters as shallow as 30 metres, while conventional submarines require greater depth. They can “sit” on the seabed and wait for targets to pass above, using the high ambient noise of shipping traffic to mask their acoustic signature.
These subs are armed with Hoot “supercavitating” torpedo that travel at 220 mph (350+ km/h) by creating a bubble of air around themselves, making them nearly impossible for ships to outmaneuver.
These vessels can also launch Jask-2 cruise missiles while remaining missiles while remaining submerged, extending their strike range to 300 kilometres. However, their deadliest role is covertly laying naval mines in international shipping lanes at night, Al Jazeera has reported.
Many of these midget subs are launched from reinforced tunnels and sea-caves carved into the cliffs of Hormozgan Province, allowing them to enter the water already submerged to avoid satellite detection.
A single Ghadir can stealthily deploy 4 to 8 naval mines directly into shipping lanes at night, experts claim. Even the discovery of one mine can halt all traffic for weeks to allow clearance operations.
Iran is effectively using the Ghadirs to disrupt normal operations in the Strait while forcing foreign naval assets to maintain a distance.
According to strategists, Iran uses these subs for ambush. They are positioned near the islands of Qeshm and Larak. They “sit” on the sandy seabed to wait for tankers, making them nearly impossible for sonar to distinguish from the ocean floor.
Small units are also deployed near the Greater and Lesser Tunbs, where the shipping lanes are narrowest, allowing them to lay mines across the entire path of traffic.
