Many foreign customers have already signaled their readiness to purchase the Iranian destroyer Dena, the Islamic Republic’s Navy Commander Rear Admiral Shahram Irani told reporters. What is this warship all about? Sputnik explores.
Round-the-World Voyage
As part of the Iranian Navy’s 86th flotilla, the Dena destroyer completed a global circumnavigation last year without encountering any breakdowns or damage to its antennas, according to Read Admiral Irani.
The flotilla, which also includes the Makran forward base ship, set sail from Iran’s southern port of Bandar Abbas in September 2022, and returned home in May 2023 essentially covering a total of 63,000 kilometers of sea routes.
Characteristics
The Dena, a fully domestically built Mowj-class destroyer, officially joined the Iranian Navy in June 2021.
With a length of 95 meters and a displacement of 1,500 tons, the destroyer is powered by two 10,000 high pressure engines, which allow the Dena to travel at a speed of 30 knots (approximately 56 km per hour). That said, the ship’s crew consists of 140 sailors.
Armaments
The destroyer features an array of armaments, including Noor or Qader anti-ship missiles, a 76 mm Fajr-27 naval gun, a 40 mm Fath-40 anti-aircraft artillery system or a 30 mm Kamand close-in weapon system (CIWS).
Additionally, the Dena is equipped with 16 tube chaff launchers - which are part of the vessel’s electronic warfare system - as well as two 20 mm Oerlikon automatic cannons, four Mehrab surface-to-air missiles, two triple 324 mm torpedoes and two 12.7 mm heavy machine guns.
The vessel is also fitted with advanced electronic warfare and sonar systems, as well as helicopter pads.