IRGC fires ballistic missiles camouflaged in containers from warship

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
13 Feb 2024 23:59
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The IRGC's Navy has launched a couple of Dezful MRBMs from a cargo ship it converted for military use back in March 2023.

IRGC fires a Dezful medium-range ballistic missile from the Shahid Mahdavi warship in footage released on February 13, 2024. (Social media)

Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy fired a ballistic missile from one of its warships, marking a first for the country.

Back in March 2023, the IRGC's Navy received the Shahid Mahdavi warship, a unique vessel based on the conversion of a 240-meter-long cargo vessel. The ship was expected to serve the purpose of hosting small speedboats, helicopters, and unmanned aerial vehicles, as well as defensive weapons.

The Shahid Mahdavi vessel provided the IRGC with a floating base, from which it could deploy several naval or aerial vehicles near the contentious Strait of Hormuz, which had been seeing increased US militarization.

However, the IRGC's engineers surprised the world yet again, by installing missile launchers, derived from shipping containers, on the ship's deck. These silos house medium-range ballistic missiles (MRBMs), from the Zulfiqar class, dubbed Dezful.

For the first time, the IRGC's Navy released footage, in which it test-fired the system. The release adds to several made by the Iranian Armed Forces, including the launching of a short-range air defense missile from a speedboat, as well as footage of the testing of longer-range MRBMs.

11 months ago I guessed that Shahid Mahdavi kept its original container ship deck to carry containerised missiles/other weapons.

Today: video of it test-launching two 1000km Dezful ballistic missiles from shipping container-style launchers, at targets in Iran's central desert. https://t.co/V5km0gPEXJ pic.twitter.com/bw4Bj3mNzj
— Aᴍɪʀ (@AmirIGM) February 13, 2024

The containers can reportedly host missiles other than the Dezful-type missiles, which are capable of precisely hitting targets located up to 1,000 km from the point of launch.

This new addition to the arsenal of the IRGC allows them greater options in selecting their method of targeting stationary targets, such as military facilities hundreds of kilometers away, from a naval mobile platform.