IRIS Shahid Roudaki

Shahid Roudaki was commissioned into service on 19 November 2020 in a ceremony attended by Major General Hossein Salami and Commander Alireza Tangsiri, commanders of the IRGC and its naval forces respectively.[1] In line with the naming convention of the IRGC she is named after Vice-admiral Abdullah Roudaki, a martyr (Shahid) and commander of the IRGCN who was assassinated.[2]

Chinese news agency Xinhua has described Shahid Roudaki as a light fleet carrier.[7] Thomas Newdick opines that it is a former roll-on/roll-off ship modified for military purposes, and compares it to the MV Ocean Trader or a much smaller version of the Expeditionary Mobile Base concept.[2]

She displaces 12,000 tonnes and is 150 m (490 ft) long, with a beam of 22 m (72 ft), according to a statement released by public relations office of the IRGC.[7]

She is equipped with one 23mm anti-aircraft gun and several heavy machine guns.[8] The vessel is capable of carrying helicopters and multiple armament on her deck, including drones and missiles.[9] She is equipped with 3D phased-array radar, anti-ship missiles and electronic warfare systems.[7] It functions as a mothership to smaller vessels, as well as a platform for launching unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV).[7] In the footage of commissioning ceremony, a Bell 412 helicopter, four speedboats, six Ababil-2 drones, a Sevom Khordad TELAR and eight anti-ship cruise missiles in four twin container launchers (possibly of Ghader or Ghadir type) were spotted on her deck.[2] According to H. I. Sutton, it would be unlikely for the IRGC to use the ship with such a formation of equipment in future operations because they were showcasing the asymmetrical roles and potential capability of Shahid Roudaki in the commissioning ceremony.[8]