Iran’s two navies and the fate of its “Midget Submarines”
Iran’s two navies and the fate of its ‘Midget Submarines’
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Bryan Clark is a senior fellow and director of the Centre for Defence Concepts and Technology at the Hudson Institute. A retired US Navy officer and submariner with more than two decades of service, Bryan served as chief engineer on nuclear submarines and as chief of naval operations staff. He is considered one of the leading US voices on naval warfare. He spoke to us in Spotlight about the situation in the Strait of Hormuz.
Produced by Gavin Lee, Alessandro Xenos, Maya Yataghene, Guillaume Gougeon and Daniel Whittington
Interesting that Clark highlights Iran’s two separate navies—IRGC and Artesh. The midget subs seem like a cheap way to threaten tanker traffic in the Gulf.
I’m surprised the article doesn’t mention the Ghadir-class subs more. Those are the real workhorses for asymmetric warfare in the Strait of Hormuz.
Given the Hudson Institute’s track record, this analysis probably overstates the threat. Iran’s midget subs have limited endurance and are mostly for coastal defense.
The fact that Iran keeps investing in midget subs while ignoring larger platforms shows they’re focused on guerrilla tactics at sea. Makes sense given our navy’s size.
Does anyone know if these midget subs can actually launch torpedoes or are they just minelayers? The article glosses over their actual combat capabilities.
I worry about how these subs could be used to disrupt oil shipments. Even if they’re not high-tech, a swarm attack on a tanker could cause a major environmental disaster.