Iran launches first naval drone carrier

Iran's dedicated drone carrier was shown at sea on Thursday, in a report by state broadcaster IRIB. The Shahid Bahman Bagheri, which became operational in December, is a converted civilian container ship purchased from South Korea more than 20 years ago.

With the decks cleared for a runway and launch ramp, the vessel will be used in the naval force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. As well as carrying helicopters, the ship was shown launching one-way attack drones and recoverable drones such as the Mohajer 6, which can fly for 12 hours.

Iran also showed a new drone aboard the ship, the JAS-313, which resembles a small fighter aircraft. It is similar in appearance to US drones known as collaborative combat aircraft, which the US military is looking to integrate with artificial intelligence.

The report from IRIB showed the JAS-313 rising from below deck, before taking off. It is not clear what role the aircraft would have given the major technical hurdles to achieving pilotless aerial combat – a challenge the US is working on with its Air Combat Evolution programme. But any drone with a range of hundreds of kilometres could assist the IRGC in building what experts call a "kill chain", the ability to guide weapons over the horizon to strike moving targets including ships.

Iran, which has often suffered budget crunches because of western sanctions, has previously used converted container ships as an cheaper alternative to purpose-built warships. These include the Shahid Mahdavi, which can fire ballistic missiles housed in standard shipping containers. The launch of the Iranian drone carrier comes after Turkey revealed a drone carrier last year, the TCG Anadolu amphibious assault ship. It can launch Bayraktar TB3 drones. In January, the Chinese navy confirmed it would have a dedicated drone carrier, a Type 076 amphibious assault ship.

Drones launched from platforms at sea are increasingly attractive to navies struggling to overcome vast distances and the strain that puts pilots and equipment. The US first launched a drone from an aircraft carrier in 2013, fielding the experimental, stealthy X-47B. The US Marine Corps now operates the Reaper MQ-9 Extended Range drone in naval operations. The drone can fly for 30 hours, far longer than piloted aircraft such as the F/A-18 Super Hornet.