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New OSINT: Iran Launches Another Forward Base Ship, I.R.I.N.S Makran
Today's Sentinel-2 satellite overpass shows that a dry dock in Iran has been flooded. This is a sign of the imminent launch of the Iranian Navy's newest, and possibly least known, ship. The new vessel is believed to be a Forward Base ship, similar in concept to the expeditionary mobile base (EMB).
The I.R.I.N.S. Makran, previously called Persian Gulf, is a tanker conversion. The 230 meter ship is much larger than the IRGC-N's ship, and represents a new capability for the Navy. According to Iranian media articles, the Commander of the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy Rear Admiral Khanzadi, has said that the ship will be capable of carrying helicopters and UAVs. It will also be equipped with "a set of missile and weapons capabilities".
This is less than two weeks after the IRGC-N revealed their first overt Forward Base ship Shahid Roudaki (the Saviz is undeclared).
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The tanker appears to have been rebuilt with hangar-like sheds on the deck. These are painted blue-gray and stand out in satellite imagery.
Candid photos, posted on Instagram by Amir Hossein
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