Reports suggest that Iran is close to commissioning a drone carrier Shahid Bagheri, based on a converted container ship, previously named Sarvin. The converted ship features a 170 m runway, capable of accommodating the take-off and landing of a large fleet of fixed-wing long-range drones. The ship is also reported to be able to carry 30 Ashura-class fast patrol boats.
The Shahid Bagheri /ex-Sarvin was delivered from Hyundai Heavy Industries in 2000 as a 3,280 TEU container ship. It was converted to a drone carrier at the ISOICO shipyard west of Bandar Abbas and is now controlled by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN.)
The Iranians claim that the converted ship is intended for defense. The semi-official Fars news agency described the vessel as a “mobile naval city” capable of “ensuring the security of Iran’s trade lines, as well as the rights of Iranian sailors and fishermen in the high seas.”