TEHRAN -- Domestically-built destroyer Dena and minehunter Shahin on Monay joined the Iranian Navy’s fleet in a ceremony attended by President Hassan Rouhani via videoconference.
Speaking at the ceremony in Bandar Abbas, the head of the Defense Ministry’s Marine Industries Organization said the Dena is the fifth missile-launching destroyer that has joined the Navy in recent years, Press TV reported.
“This destroyer was fully built by the Defense Ministry of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and completed with the supervision and participation of the Navy,” Rear Admiral Amir Rastegari said.
According to Rastegari, the homegrown destroyer is different from its peers in terms of facilities, equipment and performance, and its final stages of production and testing were completed in the previous Iranian year, which ended on April 20.
He said the Dena’s fire-control system is one of the newest systems made by the country’s electronics industry and is able to track 40 targets and deal with more than 5 targets simultaneously.
“A highly advanced electronic warfare system has been installed on this destroyer and the spectrum of its radio band has been widened,” he added.
Rastegari also said that the Shahin minehunter is 33 meters long and 11 meters wide, with a draft of 180 centimeters high. It has been produced by the young Iranian experts at the Marine Industries Organization.
“Since this homegrown vessel benefits from state-of-the-art technology, tracking and neutralizing various types of naval mines are among the capabilities of the Shahin minehunter,” the admiral added.
Iran’s Defense Minister Brigadier General Amir Hatami also spoke at the ceremony, saying that the sea has provided unique opportunities for the country in various fields.
“By joining the Iranian Navy, the Dena destroyer increased the strategic depth of the Islamic Iran in defending its interests in the sea,” Hatami said.
He said the Islamic Republic of Iran has 2,500 kilometers of maritime boundary, especially in the south, which has created many opportunities for the country.
Addressing the ceremony, President Rouhani said the Iranian armed forces have never sought to invade any country, telling Iran’s neighbors that the Islamic Republic’s military protects them as well.
He said it’s a very good day for the people of Iran, the Iranian Navy and the armed forces.
Rouhani explained that Iranian experts managed to build a “very important destroyer” from scratch in eight years.
“Today, the Defense Ministry completed a very large project and handed over two ships to the Navy of the Islamic Republic’s Army,” he said.
Elsewhere in his remarks, the president said the Iranian nation and government have emerged victorious in the face of the United States’ economic war through their resistance and perseverance.
“Today, we are witnessing the joining of two ships to the Navy of the Islamic Republic’s Army, which were built during these eight
years of the eleventh and twelfth administrations. This shows that no pressure or war can bring the nation and the government to their knees,” he added.
The commander of the Iranian Navy said enemies of the Islamic Republic are deeply concerned about the presence of the country’s naval fleet in high seas, including the Atlantic Ocean.
“The presence of the naval fleet of the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy in the Atlantic Ocean has greatly worried the enemies of the country,” Rear Admiral Hussein Khanzadi told reporters on the sidelines of the ceremony.
“This is while the presence of the strategic naval forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran is aimed at [promoting] interaction with the Atlantic Ocean states,” he added.
He noted that the American media and statesmen have been preoccupied over recent weeks with the arrival of an Iranian naval fleet, including the Makran port ship and the domestically-built Sahand destroyer, in the Atlantic Ocean for the first time.
Makran is a ship that has been manufactured to carry out operations in long-distance and remote areas and has equipment enabling it to conduct missions anywhere, the Iranian Navy commander said.
Deputy Chief of Army for Coordination Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said on Thursday that the naval fleet has managed to reach the Atlantic Ocean without calling at other countries’ ports, marking the first time the Iranian navy has gotten this far into the Atlantic.
“We consider our presence in international waters an inalienable strategic right of the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy and we will continue on this path with strength,” Sayyari added.
As reiterated by Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, Khanzadi further said, free waters belong to all nations and the Iranian Navy is sailing through in such waters.
The senior commander emphasized that the naval forces would boost friendly ties with states if necessary without any need for calling at other countries’ ports.
“We have the capability and necessary power for every operation in such areas,” he pointed out.