The IRGC Navy Commissions The Catamaran-Type Shahid Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis Warship
On January 6, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) officially commissioned a new catamaran ship that it claims contains “advanced technologies.” The official handover ceremony for the ship, named “Shahid Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis” in memory of the Deputy Chief of the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces, who was killed alongside General Qassem Soleimani in a US army drone attack in Iraq in 2020, was held in Bandar Abbas, the capital of Hormozgan province in southern Iran. Major General Hossein Salami of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, Revolutionary Guard Naval Forces Commander Rear Admiral Ali Reza Tangsiri, and other senior military officials attended the event.
Major General Hossein Salami, Commander-in-Chief of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, stated during the delivery ceremony of the Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis warship: “Understanding the importance of the sea as a key and decisive phase of the war, the Islamic Republic of Iran is working on the creation, development, and completion of a naval force that is different from conventional naval forces.”
Major General Salami continued: “This reinforcement was designed with the assumption that we will face the world’s largest naval forces.” Major General Salami went on to say, “The focus of our activities is to defeat the enemy. We develop power not to be defeated, but to defeat the enemy.”
The warship Shahid Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis is the third catamaran in the IRGCN fleet. The first ship of this type, Shahid Nazeri, joined the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Navy in 2016, followed by Shahid Soleimani in 2022. All three catamarans were built at the Shahid Mahallati Shipyard in Bushehr, but their capabilities, sensors, armaments, and technical specifications differ. As a result, it is incorrect to categorize them in the same class.
The Shahid Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis ship is smaller in size than the Shahid Nazeri and Shahid Soleimani catamarans. The new catamaran measures 40 meters long, 12 meters wide, and has a displacement of 300 tons. Shahid Abu Mahdi, powered by four domestic diesel engines, is said to have a maximum speed of 37 knots and a range of 5,000 nautical miles.
According to Revolutionary Guard Naval Forces Commander Rear Admiral Ali Reza Tangsiri, Shahid Abu Mahdi can navigate within a 2,000-nautical-mile radius without being detected by enemy radars and surveillance systems. Furthermore, it can stay at sea for 14 days without requiring logistical support. Tangsiri also claimed that the new catamaran can conduct marine operations in sea state 5 and remain afloat in sea state 6 conditions due to its hull design.
According to images released by Iranian media, the weapon systems on board the Shahid Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis catamaran include one 30mm gun, four 20/23mm chain guns, two triple box launchers for Noor, Qader, and Ghadir anti-ship missiles (AShM), and eight Kosar guided surface-to-air (SAM) missiles. However, unlike the Shahid Soleimani catamaran, the new ship does not have a helipad or vertical launch system. Instead, a small area on the deck is reserved for unmanned aerial vehicles capable of vertical takeoff and landing.
Shahid Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis is also outfitted with Iran’s most advanced detection, radar, telecommunications, and electronic warfare systems for surface, underwater, and air traffic, as well as intelligence and target identification and tracking. This ship also has modern communication and telecommunication equipment (equipped with various encoders) as well as data links.