TEHRAN – Beating its own record for the Iranian Navy’s destroyer with the highest number of cruise missiles, the Sabalan has been armed with more anti-ship cruise missiles, Navy chief Rear Admiral Shahram Irani said on Sunday.
He said the missile capabilities of the Sabalan have quadrupled in terms of the diversity and range of missiles in comparison with its initial model, adding the destroyer is now furnished with 16 anti-ship cruise missiles.
The general noted that the upgraded version of the military vessel will be unveiled soon.
With a weight of 1,500 tons, the Sabalan was previously furnished with only four Qader and Qadir cruise missiles.
The destroyer, which has taken part in many overseas missions as part of the Iranian Navy’s flotillas, is an Alvand-class warship that had been purchased under the name of ‘Rostam’ from the UK before the victory of the Islamic Revolution.
The Sabalan is thought to have been armed with a new long-range strategic cruise missile, named after Iraqi resistance commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, which the Iranian Navy received in July 2023.
With a range of over 1,000 kilometers, the homegrown naval cruise missile would expand Iran’s naval defense coverage zone several times and allow the Navy units to broaden their operational range.
Known as the first long-range naval cruise missile whose trajectory definition and command-and-control systems have been equipped with artificial intelligence, the missile can streak at low altitudes for radar-evading maneuvers and alter its course and height in midair.