Defence Turk: Iran building drone carrier ship PHOTO

At one of the Iranian shipyards in the Strait of Hormuz, a merchant's vessel is being rebuilt into a future carrier of the Shahid Bagheri UAV for the Navy of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.

Military analyst H.I. Sutton wrote about this in his personal blog, according to Defence Turk.

The ship, which is being constructed in a dry dock at the entrance to the Persian Gulf, is being developed from the hull of a large container ship and will be launched in 2023. Iran wants to use both helicopters and fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles on this ship. Iranian specialists are trying to lengthen the runway on the ship by placing an additional ledge on the left side of the main body of the 240-metre ship.

The drone carrier ship is being developed on the basis of the large container ship Perarin, which was built in 2000 and operated under the Iranian flag. The ship has a total length of 240.2 metres and a width of 32.2 metres.

Earlier, Iran modified an old civilian tanker and took it into service as a new warship in its navy. Converting civilian platforms into warships can be very cost-effective, but it will raise serious questions about the reliability and functionality of the platform.

The weapons or sensors it carries are not the only factors that distinguish a ship from a "military" or "civilian" one. In addition, there are significant differences between civilian and military ships in many aspects, such as hull design, performance, sealing, power plant, and maneuverability.