TEHRAN, April 20 (Xinhua) -- Iran has begun to make and furnish the hulls of three new models of the homegrown diesel-electric Fateh (conqueror) submarines, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Thursday.
The new models are Fateh-2, Fateh-3 and Fateh-4, Tasnim quoted Iranian Army's Navy Commander Shahram Irani as saying.
The first Fateh submarine was unveiled in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas in the Iranian province of Hormuzgan in February 2019.
After their delivery to the navy's fleet, all operational capacities of the first submarines, especially in the fields of launching torpedoes and detecting sub-surface targets, have been thoroughly examined, Irani said, adding the Fateh submarines were also tested during the Zolfaqar-1401 drills held in January.
Iran has manufactured an "adequate" number of the Fateh submarines, said the commander.
The Iran-made Fateh, weighing 527 tons, can operate more than 200 meters below the sea surface for nearly five weeks.
The semi-heavy submarine, equipped with modern weaponry such as torpedoes and naval mines, is capable of carrying and firing cruise missiles from a submerged position. It also boasts a guided-missile system and an advanced sonic radar system. ■
