Iran Manufactures Sonar-Evading Submarine

TEHRAN (Fars News Agency)- Iran said on Wednesday to have built a submarine equipped with sonar-evading technology, saying the craft had been launched in the Persian Gulf.

The navy chief, Adm. Habibollah Sayyari, was quoted by state television as saying the new Ghadir-class submarine is the second Iranian-built underwater craft outfitted with "state-of-the-art electronic equipment." He said it took 10 years to build.

The report showed a picture of a submarine. Iran's two domestically built submarines can fire missiles and torpedoes simultaneously.

Iran has been pushing an arms development program in recent years in a bid to reach self-sufficiency. It has produced its own jet fighters and armored vehicles as well as radar-avoiding missiles and other high-tech weapons. On Tuesday, it announced a new long-range missile.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the new submarine is part of Iran's drive toward self-sufficiency in arms production, the television report said.

"Today, you have been able to design and build many of the military requirements. We have become self-sufficient from other countries," Khamenei was quoted as telling navy commanders Wednesday.

Iranian officials have repeatedly said the Islamic Republic will defend itself should the United States or archrival Israel ever attack.

“Actually, the Swedes did deliver the technology to the U.S.”

Thanks for the update. I will have to spend some $$$ with Lexis-Nexis and see if I can find a reference to when the Swedes let us look at it. I hope that that “look-see” was more than just a physical inspection.

I imagine our Admirals had all this in mind when the Chinese sub popped up out of nowhere recently (to their great and admitted surprise) in the middle of a major naval exercise they were conducting in the Pacific.

“(Purists will note there is a third way to achieve low observability against active pinging sonar, namely the use of anechoic — sound absorbing — coatings on the hull. But modern U.S. submarine passive sonars are able to derive the range to any high-decibel sound source instantly, obviating the need to ever go active against an inbound torpedo. The implied analogy to radar-absorbent materials on cruise missiles fails underwater.)”

However, this particular quote mirrors most of the article in that it is primarily concerned with how NOT “sonar evading” enough are most anti-sub weapons that have attempted to be sonar evading.

But my recollections, regarding the Swedes, was related to the submarine itself, concerning how extremely well they employed “sound absorbing” of ITS hull and engineering that masked, or made super quiet, its engines. It was not referring to trying to make anti-sub weapons less detectable to sonar.

I might have to use my cc on Lexis-Nexis, because there is too much stuff in my old brain to remember the source.

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