Iran says warships sailing towards U.S.: agency

[EX500rider]

81. StrategyPage has some more on the story:

"Iran: Talk Big And Avoid Armed Confrontations

The state controlled media is breathlessly following the progress of what it describes as a “destroyer” and “helicopter carrier” traveling to the Atlantic Ocean. Iran describes these two ships as the “27th fleet” and that the two ships will stay out there for three months protecting Iranian merchant ships from pirates. In reality the “destroyer” is a 1,500 ton frigate and the “helicopter carrier” is a 33,000 ton oil tanker modified to have a helicopter landing pad and it sometimes carries three helicopters. The helicopter carrier has also been armed with a 76mm gun and two twin-23mm anti-aircraft guns. The main function of the helicopter carrier is to ensure that the frigate does not run out of fuel in the middle of the ocean. This frigate can travel 9,000 kilometers on internal fuel (at 28 kilometers an hour). In other words it has to refuel every two weeks if it keeps moving while at sea. The 27th fleet has moved south around the southern tip of Africa and towards Venezuela and Cuba where the fleet will recuperate and provide photo ops. The U.S. will be condemned and warned that the Iran Navy is close. This is all for domestic consumption, to reassure Iranians who believe, or want to believe that three decades of sanctions have not reduced their armed forces to impotence. While Iran has the largest armed forces (in terms of personnel) in the region its weapons and equipment are far less capable and for decades its military leaders have been chosen for their loyalty to the religious dictatorship that runs Iran rather than for skill in military matters.

Iran has been unable to buy foreign warships for most of the last 30 years and has never developed the capacity to build modern warships. But Iran has built a commercial ship building industry and that is being used to build obsolete warships (using decade’s old technology, or whatever can be stolen or smuggled in). This stuff is OK for coast guard duties but not for a serious confrontation with the neighbors. Neither the Arabs nor the Iranians have much of a naval tradition, but the Arabs have much better ships and warplanes and sailors nearly as good as the Iranians. Given all that the Iranians prefer to talk big and avoid armed confrontations."

http://strategypage.com/qnd/iran/articles/20140215.aspx