Posted on 04/05/2006 4:52:43 AM PDT by Flavius
Whilst Teherans envoys try to convince the whole world that Iranian atomic energy is the most peaceful on the planet, and analysts guess whether Iran or Israel will be the first to try to erase the other from the political map, the Iranian military decided to flex its muscles somewhat. Last Friday large-scale naval exercises known as The Great Prophet began in the region of the Persian and Oman Gulfs, in which more than 17 thousand soldiers, about 1500 battleships, support aircraft, airborne interceptors, bombers, helicopters and missile installations were employed. As Iranian naval commander Morteza Safari declared, These manoeuvres are being carried out to act as a counter-measure in the psychological war which has been unleashed against Iran, and to increase the defense capabilities of our army.
Aerofoil boat, similar to one tested by Iran Aerofoil boat, similar to one tested by Iran
BREAKING NEWS The world may celebrate the end of the Western civilization Millions of migrants inundate the Russian society Condoleezza Rice's sexual worries in the White House
Natalie Portman: the daring Hollywood star More...
See the photo report of Iran's military tests here
Since then not a day has passed without state television IRI reporting on the testing of the latest type of super-weapon which has been developed by local inventors. So Tuesdays main surprise was the mysterious flying ghost-ship. According to official sources, the way the ships body has been constructed means that it cannot be detected by sea and air-based radar systems. The ship itself is capable of rising above the surface of the water and is armed with missiles which are able to home in on their target with great accuracy even while the ship is moving. It is claimed that this technological miracle was developed and constructed from start to finish in Iran.
Russian military experts believe that this patchy description does not conceal a ship lying on an air cushion, but a military aerofoil boat a flying machine capable of rising up into the air due to the so-called surface effect which involves streamlining the surface of the machine whilst in motion in close contact to the surface of the water. Thanks to this effect aerofoil boats have a significantly larger cargo-carrying capacity than an ordinary aeroplane. There was a similar type of machine in the Soviet naval forces, called the Eaglet.
Meanwhile, on Sunday Teheran announced the successful tests of the world's quickest torpedo, capable of reaching speeds of over 100 m/sec. As the Iranian military declared, not a single army in the world is able to defend itself against this underwater missile. However, it soon emerged that this weapon is not particularly new, and most importantly, in no way originated in Iran. International experts admitted that the torpedo was developed in the Soviet Union it is called Tornado and does indeed travel at extremely high speeds, but is accurate only up to a range of 7km, which is more often than not insufficient for the demands of modern military action.
Aerofoil boat, similar to one tested by Iran Aerofoil boat, similar to one tested by Iran
BREAKING NEWS The world may celebrate the end of the Western civilization Millions of migrants inundate the Russian society Condoleezza Rice's sexual worries in the White House
Natalie Portman: the daring Hollywood star More...
According to one version, Iran was able to get hold of the Tornado from Kyrgyzstan it was there that these torpedoes were tested, on Lake Issyk-Kul, during Soviet times. After the Unions collapse, experts think that Kyrgyzstan might have sold armaments to China, which in turn supplied them to Iran. However, Kanybek Tabaldiev, a senior representative of the Kirghiz company which produces torpedoes and other military technology, categorically denied the involvement of the Kirghiz military-industrial complex in selling modern weapons technology to Iran.
Source: Utro
Translated by James Platt
Aerofoil boat, similar to one tested by Iran
Yeah, that looks about right. Mother of all naval battles, right?
"1500 battleships? lol....I'd be surprised if they had 15. Same old Pravda. The Russians are getting comically desperate in their attempts to keep us from taking care of business in the Gulf."
Sorry, still can't figure how to italicize.
Still, I like your point. Getting to be about time to take care of the mullahs.
Sooner rather than later.
A US Special Forces soldier is seen riding a captured top secret Iranian All Terrain Troop Carrier in a photo released late yesterday by the Pentagon.
An unnamed DOD official was quoted as saying, "This is just another example of a weapons system development program that slipped in under our radar. It will take us years to catch up to this and other technology developments in the Middle East. We've got a team reverse engineering this one as we speak"
I just converted the speed that they quoted for the torpedo (100 m/s) and it's over 204 mph.
This "excercise" sounds more like an excercise in Chinese restaurant menu-writing...
====================
LOL!!!
"...about 1500 battleships,..." = 1500 RB3's with forward mounted cal .50's
Yeah, this super dooper torpedo will need a secure launch platform. lol...Syria would be well advised, to follow Libya's lead. Since, everyone knows, Putin would also stand the fk down. He will just say- "Hey, I had no idea, these bastards would try to use what we sold 'em. We assumed it was for a peaceful purpose. My personal regret is overwhelming!"
[Top Secret Photo of Iranian "Battleship"]
Ha,ha. Now that is funnyyyy.
They should worry...I hear sexually frustrated people can become violent on occasion.
They couldn't make it fly so they installed skis and called it a ship.
Battleship of the "Trout Fishing" class...
With 1500 battleships in the Gulf, they must be vewy vewy cawful when the tet it...
They sure like using planes as missiles.
Yes, I hear they can be brutal on beer bottle labels. If enough sexually frustrated sleeper cells are put into action, we'll only know beverages by their bottle colors.
That thing actually flies, albeit only in "ground effect."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ground_effect
Iran has 3 operational frigates, the rest are missile boats and smaller. I guess battleship translates differently. Any military owned boat counts as a battleship under this translation.
Iran has zero battleships. But we are reading a propaganda communique that was translated from Farsi (probably) into English. "Battleship" could mean "combat vessel", and a dingy with a machine gun would count.
Bluffing with a pair a deuces against a Texan with four aces is not smart. In the words of Mark Twain, he has the cool confidence of a Christian with four aces.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.