Satellite imagery from Vantor shows what it assesses to be an Iranian Alvand class frigate, one of three seen in port in the photo, billowing dark smoke after being struck as part of the U.S. and Israeli air campaign against the country. It’s also possible it’s another class of ship, but satellite imagery taken the day prior shows an Alvand in that berth. The image is the first confirmation of heavy damage or a loss of an Iranian warship since the strikes began. You can read the latest on the conflict in our live coverage here.
The burning frigate is seen sitting pier-side in Konarak, a port city in Iran’s southeastern corner, that sits along the Gulf of Oman and near the Pakistani border.
The location gives Iran closer access to the Indian Ocean, and it’s also an area known to be a hotbed of drone and missile capabilities, especially the anti-shipping kind, that can be launched from there to reach far out beyond the Gulf of Oman, putting ships at risk in the Indian Ocean.
Vantor also captured drone-launching activities around Konarak, which include the same Shahed-136 types that are currently striking Arab gulf states that are allied with the United States.
Though Iran refers to them as frigates, the Alvand class warships displace around 1,500 tons with a full combat load, putting them in a category more typically described as corvettes. The current Islamic Republic inherited four Alvand class vessels from the previous imperial regime, all of which had originally been built in the United Kingdom in the 1970s. U.S. forces sank one of them, the Sahand, in 1988, during the Tanker War sideshow to the Iran-Iraq War.
The ships originally came armed with Italian Sea Killer anti-ship cruise missiles, but they were replaced with Chinese C-802 types (and Iranian clones thereof) in the 1990s. The design also has a 4.5-inch main gun in a turret on the bow, as well as other smaller guns on mountings elsewhere along the hull. Iran has also since built additional warships based on the Alvand design, which are called Moudge class frigates or corvettes. One of those ships now also bears the name Sahand. The Alvand class and its derivatives are the largest surface combatants in Iranian service today.
Contact the author: Tyler@twz.com