Iran's IRGC Forward Floating Base Shahid Mahdavi

The forward floating base "Shahid Mahdavi" of the Iranian IRGC.

In 2023, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy commissioned its second “forward floating base” (probably named after the classification adopted by the US Navy), the L110–3 “Shahid Mahdavi”, converted from a civilian Panamax container ship.
Its predecessor is the Shahid Roudaki, a converted roll-on/roll-off vessel built in Italy in 1992 that entered service with the IRGC in 2020. With a displacement of approximately 12 t, the vessel has main dimensions of 000 x 150,0 x 21,6 m.

"Shahid Roudaki" - General view

In in

[/h3]During the ceremony of handing over the vessel to the IRGC, the following weapons could be seen on board:
• Four small high-speed boats with missile weapons
• Eight launchers of anti-ship missiles "Qader" (range 300 km, warhead weight 200 kg)
• SAM “Khordad-3” on a vehicle chassis (analogous to the Russian “Buk”)
• Six UAVs of the aircraft type "Ababil-2".
• Quadcopters of various types
• Bell 412 helicopter
• 23mm artillery mount and heavy machine guns
American experts believe that the Shahid Roudaki is also equipped with a powerful radar and electronic intelligence system.

"Shahid Roudaki" - weapons.

The Shahid Mahdavi is based on the container ship Sarvin (IMO 9209348), built in 2000 at a South Korean shipyard and owned by an Iranian national company.
Main performance characteristics of the container ship “Sarvin”

Maximum length, m - 240
Width is the greatest, m - 32
Tonnage, GRT — 36
Deadweight, t — 41 971
Main power plant - diesel MAN B&W 6S50MC-C, 29 kW
Speed, knots - 18
Cruising range, miles - 17.

[h3]Container ship "Sarvin"

"Shahid Mahdavi" was "created" at the Iranian national shipyard Iran Shipbuilding & Offshore Industries Complex, located near Bandar Abbas. Naturally, it is impossible to obtain full information about the scope of modernization, so we have to be content with short publications, photos and videos in Iranian media, as well as satellite images published in the West.

Shahid Mahdavi, March 2023

Shahid Mahdavi, commissioning ceremony, March 2023

As a result of the work carried out, helicopters of various types (Mi-171, Augusta Bell-412, etc.), UAVs, including the HESA Shahed 136 with a flight range of up to 2500 km, and small combat boats can be used from the vessel.

Mi-171 helicopter on the deck of the Shahid Mahdavi

UAV Shahed 136

UAV "Arabil-2"

These boats may include those armed with 2-4 anti-ship launchers. missiles with a range of up to 180 km, the Zulficar-class boats developed in the DPRK are a kind of symbiosis of a high-speed boat with torpedo weapons and a midget submarine, and a boat Defense Zulfaghar type with four vertical PU Navab SAM systems.

IRGC small missile boat

The Shahid Mahdavi also received the Navab air defense system. The air defense system is designed to effectively counter various threats, including ballistic and cruise missiles, modern Drones and aircraft. The complex allows for the destruction of air targets at a range of 15-25 km.

Navab SAM missile

The vessel is also armed with Qadr-474 cruise missiles with a range of up to 2000 km and containers with Zolfaqar Basir ballistic missiles (range up to 1000 km). Small-caliber artillery mounts and large-caliber machine guns serve for self-defense.

Qadr-474 cruise missile

Containers with Zolfaqar Basir ballistic missile launchers

Zolfaqar Basir rocket launch

The Shahid Mahdavi is equipped with a three-dimensional phased array radar with a detection range of up to 200 km for air and surface targets, EW and electronic intelligence.

In the spring of 2024, Shahid Mahdavi became the first IRGC Navy ship to cross the equator and visit the southern hemisphere. During its 39-day voyage, it crossed the equator, passed by Diego Garcia, where the American military base was located, crossed the Tropic of Africa, passed through the Strait of Malacca, and returned to Bandar Abbas on May 18.

Comments

[Civil]

Smokers used to go to Water World on this

[Inj Meh]

empty on the front deck.
There is a feeling of incompleteness.

I thought that the helipad would be another floor at the back and significantly raised to the level of, for example, the roof of the superstructure, which in general would not greatly interfere with using the rear deck as both a weapons and cargo deck (including the ability to stack containers (including for organizing the mass launch of swarms of small-sized UAVs if necessary)).

Accordingly, the front part is entirely devoted to weapons and other useful cargo (but no one forbids making a narrow runway, raised at least to the level of the container layer, and launching heavier drones with a run (judging by the picture, this is feasible even with the installation of two containers across).

Let's consider this a trial run.

[Inj Meh]

I wonder if the Iranians or anyone else has already tried to experiment with conventional aircraft and special booster reusable modules for them (individual catapults, if you like)?

For example:
1. If we solve the main problems of VTOL aircraft (we take off vertically only EITHER with a full tank OR with a full combat load), then a large (lift-and-acceleration) quadcopter (unmanned and independently returning) that can be undocked after takeoff suggests itself - an external launch fuel tank.
2. If we solve the problem of a sharp shortening of the takeoff run of a standard aircraft, then a large (lift-and-acceleration) glider (at least to provide additional wing area, unmanned and independently returning) - an external launch fuel tank - comes to mind.
2.A. the same with additional engines (which can (and should) be interchangeable with aircraft engines) for especially difficult cases (in every sense of the word).

Well, and of course, since they are UAVs, you can have a set of all sorts of interesting warheads and other useful modules for them.

That is, my deeply affected brain sees that the solution to the problem of naval aviation (as well as the amphibious nature of airborne ground combat equipment and aviation that is not very dependent on airfield infrastructure) lies exclusively in providing serial "land" equipment with "crutches" that can be folded out in time (of course, with minor modifications that ensure the possibility of using the "crutches").

If there is something to read on this topic, then feel free to send me along with the appropriate link to the Internet resource.