Iran's First Drone Carrier Gets Ski Jump
Further to the article in December 2022, the ski-jump arrangement of Iran's first drone carrier is now confirmed in photos. The carrier, to be named Shahid Bagheri, has an unique flight deck layout.
The ship was built in 2000 as a Container Ship. She was until 2021 operating under an Iranian flag as PERARIN (IMO: 9209350). As built, her length was 240.2 meter, beam 32.2 meters and draft 7.8 meters. In drone carrier configuration her beam will be extended on the port side, and her draft will likely be less.
Perarin during conversion. The ski-jump is not yet visible in this image.
The flight deck and ski-jump is angled towards the starboard (right) side of the ship. This is a workaround to the pre-existing superstructure which is the full width of the ship. It also shows that drones will be able to land as well as take-off. Exactly which models of drone will be carried is unclear, Iran has so many, but possibly flying wing copies of the American RQ-170.
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