A few days ago, the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy celebrated one of its most recent achievements with the unveiling of its first domestically designed and manufactured signals intelligence (SIGINT) collection vessel. The new unit, officially named Zagros, joins an interesting list of both commercial and military ships that have been heavily modified to meet the requirements laid out by Iranian naval authorities. This new vessel, based on a corvette design, presents unique features compared to other ships with similar roles.
According to reports published a few days ago by state-controlled news agencies like IRNA, the Iranian Navy showcased one of its most advanced domestically developed and manufactured vessels on January 15. The Zagros, as it has been officially introduced, is the first signals intelligence collection vessel (popularly referred to as a “spy ship”). Images and videos shared on social media have subjected the ship to scrutiny by Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) experts and specialists, who are attempting to uncover its secrets regarding design, equipment, and capabilities.
Firstly, the Zagros displays some unusual design decisions compared to other vessels with similar functions. Specifically, the ship is derived from the Mowj-class corvettes, which are currently in service with the Iranian Navy.
The hull and superstructure have been stripped of the armament present on the mentioned class, showing significant modifications to the upper part of the superstructure to house a series of sensors designed to collect, decrypt, and analyze radio frequency signals from potential threats and adversaries.
One of the main differences observed compared to the original Mowj-class corvette design is the presence of a flight deck and hangar for the operation and deployment of rotary-wing aircraft from the vessel. As of now, the specific role of this aircraft when the ship enters service remains speculative. However, as images suggest, it would operate an aircraft approximately the size of the AB-212.
Although the exact dimensions of the Zagros have not been officially disclosed, being derived from the mentioned corvettes, it can be inferred that it has a displacement slightly exceeding 1,500 tons and a crew of approximately 140 personnel. The ship’s length is estimated to be around 95 meters, with a beam of 11.1 meters. Nevertheless, given the modifications it features, these dimensions could vary as more information becomes available.
With the unveiling of the ship completed, it is likely that the Zagros will soon begin new navigation trials with its crew. To date, it has not been reported whether the vessel has officially entered service or if it will do so soon. What is clear is that the Iranian Navy aims to enhance its intelligence-gathering capabilities in key regions of interest such as the Persian Gulf, the Arabian Sea, and the Red Sea. This is particularly significant given the conflicts Iran is directly and indirectly involved in, through proxies like the Houthi rebels in Yemen, against Israel and its allies.
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