Domestically overhauled destroyer rejoins Iran’s naval fleet

TEHRAN,June 12(MNA) – In a ceremony held in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas on Tuesday, a domestically overhauled destroyer, named the Martyr Bayondor, was launched in the Persian Gulf. Armed Forces Commander Major General Ataollah Salehi, Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari, and a number of Navy officials and personnel attended the ceremony. In a project which took about 528,000 man-hours, Iranian experts overhauled the Bayondor using 8,000 “indigenized” parts, replacing 2,500 faulty parts, servicing 3,200 components, repairing 170 systems, and upgrading 98 systems. The Bayondor had been decommissioned for about two years to be overhauled. The destroyer’s main engines, heat exchangers, and fuel and oil systems were repaired, and its control room was upgraded. An advanced fire-control system, 40mm and 76mm guns, and surface-to-surface missile-launching systems were also installed on the destroyer. The warship is 83.3 meters long and 10 meters wide and weighs 1,135 tons. In the ceremony, Major General Salehi said that the Iranian Navy had been adequately equipped to expand its presence on the open seas. Rear Admiral Sayyari told reporters on the sidelines of the ceremony that a submarine of the Fateh class would be launched during the current Iranian calendar year, which started on March 21.