Iran Announces Another Miracle

July 10, 2012: Iran makes frequent announcements about the growth and modernization of its submarine force. The latest press release reveals that Iran is beginning to develop a nuclear powered submarine. On a more substantial level, last December they announced they had put another three of their Ghadir class submarines into service. While the nuclear powered sub project is a mirage, the Ghadir is real, as there are 19 of them in service.

What Iran does not issue press releases about is the stuff that doesn't work. Take, for example, the 400 ton Nahang class sub. This was to be the successor to the 120 ton Ghadirs. Alas, one Nahang entered service six years ago, and none followed. The Nahang seemed to spend most of its time in port, full of technicians, or in dry dock, partially disassembled. A successor to the Nahang, the 1,000 ton Qaaem has yet to be finished after five years of effort. Moreover, the Qaaem, unlike the other Iranian built subs is not a mini-sub that can operate anywhere in the generally shallow Persian Gulf. For example, the three Russian built Kilo class subs Iran has are so big (2,300 tons) that they can only operate in about a third of the Persian Gulf. That makes them easier to find and destroy in the Gulf. That explains why Iran is increasingly sending its Kilos outside the Gulf.

Meanwhile, the successful Ghadir is another example of Iranian resourcefulness in the face of embargoes. Since 1996, when Russia agreed to stop selling them submarines, Iran has been working on their own designs. After ten years of trial and error they produced the 120 ton Ghadir (Qadir) class vessels in 2005. Iran claims to have a fleet of 19 of these small diesel electric subs and no less than four have been shown together and photographed. The Iranians are not releasing specification sheets to anyone but Ghadirs look very similar to the Italian Cosmos SX-506B submarines that Columbia has operated since the 1980s. The 100-ton SX-506Bs are only large enough to carry commandos and mines. However released news footage shows what looks like to be two torpedo tubes on the Iranian Ghadirs. The Iranians claim that the Ghadirs carry torpedoes.

SX-756
It should be remembered that Cosmos exported a number of larger vessels to Pakistan in the 1990s. Dubbed the SX-756 they may have been the design basis for the Ghadir. It should also be acknowledged that the North Korean Sang-O class submarine closely approximates the Ghadir type. In 2007 North Korea gave Iran, outright, four of its Yugo-type midget submarines. These Yugos were well worn 90-ton 21 meter (65 foot) craft but Iran accepted them all the same. Taking them apart taught the Iranians much about how to design and build mini-subs.

Yugo
Iran took the big leap in the early 1990s when they acquired three Kilo 877/636 type diesel electric submarines from Russia. The 2,300 ton Kilos are long range subs capable of operating throughout the Indian Ocean (from South Africa to Australia). The Kilos have six 533mm (21 inch) torpedo tubes and 18 torpedoes (including one or more Shkval rocket torpedo) or 24 mines. Very similar to the world-standard diesel submarine, the 1800-ton German Type 209, the Kilo is a formidable foe and can stay at sea for up to 45 days, which makes it capable of long range patrols.

An Iranian Kilo class submarine, the Yunes
All this Iranian submarine activity has spurred the U.S. to develop new tools and techniques for detecting small subs in shallow waters. The Americans have not released results of tests against NATO mini-subs. But that is to be expected. You save that kind of surprise for the first few days of a war.

http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htsub/articles/20120710.aspx

Nemo me impune lacesset,

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"The chief aim of all government is to preserve the freedom of the citizen. His control over his person, his property, his movements, his business, his desires should be restrained only so far as the public welfare imperatively demands. The world is in more danger of being governed too much than too little. It is the teaching of all history that liberty can only be preserved in small areas. Local self-government is, therefore, indispensable to liberty. A centralized and distant bureaucracy is the worst of all tyranny. Taxation can justly be levied for no purpose other than to provide revenue for the support of the government. To tax one person, class or section to provide revenue for the benefit of another is none the less robbery because done under the form of law and called taxation." John W. Davis, Democratic Presidential Candidate, 1924. Davis was one of the greatest trial and appellate lawyers in US history. He also served as the US Ambassador to the UK.

"the Italian Cosmos SX-506B submarines that Columbia has operated since the 1980s."

Would that be the District of Columbia? Or perhaps the province of British Columbia?

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// The latest press release reveals that Iran is beginning to develop a nuclear powered submarine. //

By pure coincidence, nuclear submarines tend to use uranium enriched to as high as 96% U235. Their development seems to be allowed by the NPT.

"By pure coincidence, nuclear submarines tend to use uranium enriched to as high as 96% U235. Their development seems to be allowed by the NPT."

Funny enough this is something I have been saying for a very long time, is that nuclear enrichment in and of itself is no evidence of a nuclear weapons program. Now whether there are other facts or evidence inside Iran of a nuclear weapons program is entirely up for debate...but uranium enrichment in and of itself does not conclusively prove a nuclear weapons program is active.

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"Come out from man foul spirit. What is thy name?" And he said unto him, "Our name is legion, for we are many." Gospel of Mark, 5 - 8

Patriotism is your conviction that your country is superior to all others because you were born in it. George Bernard Shaw

The important part that has gone more or less completely unnoticed is that in the last year Iran managed to create fuel rods.
The small reactor in Tehran University was used to create atomic isotopes used in cancer treatment. The reactor needed refueling and the western5 + Russia were demanding concessions on the enrichment before refueling it. Now Iran has refueled the reactor and this is very important, because now The Bousher reactor too can be fueled internally and of course small reactors for submarine are also a possibility.