Imperial Iranian Ground Force

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Revision as of 00:25, 17 November 2007

The Imperial Iranian Navy is the smallest branch of the Imperial Iranian Army, with about 55,000 personnel. It is organized into three fleets, two in the Persian Gulf (Bushehr and Bandar Abbas) and the other in the Caspian Sea. The bulk of the navy's fleet is stationed at the naval headquarters base at Bandar Abbas. Other major bases are located in Bushehr, Khoramshahr, Khark Island, Hengam Island, Bandar Shahpur, and Chah Bahar. Bandar Pahlavi is the major training facility and home of the small Caspian fleet, which is comprised of a small number of patrol boats and a minesweeper. The navy includes a 15,000-strong marine division (with headquarters in Asalouyeh) and an aviation element consisting of ASW, minesweeping, and transport aircraft, as well as some recently-delivered F/A-18 Hornet multirole fighters. The United States and United Kingdom supply the vast majority of the navy's equipment, although a sizeable amount of the navy's equipment is domestically-produced.

Contents 1 Organization 1.1 Bandar Abbas Fleet 1.1.1 Ships 1.1.2 Aircraft 1.2 Bushehr Fleet 1.2.1 Ships 1.2.2 Aircraft 1.3 Caspian Sea Fleet 1.3.1 Ships 1.3.2 Aircraft 2 Marine division 2.1 Marine brigade 2.1.1 Marine infantry battalion 2.1.2 Tank battalion 2.1.3 Artillery battalion 2.1.4 Aviation battalion 2.1.5 Engineer battalion 2.1.6 Reconnaissance squadron 2.1.7 Support battalion 2.2 Divisional aviation brigade

Organization

Bandar Abbas Fleet

Ships

• 3 Kouroush class destroyers
• 3 Alvand class frigates
• 4 Bayandor class frigates
• 6 Type 209 submarines
• 8 Kaman class guided missile boats
• 3 Parvin class patrol boats
• 2 Kangan class patrol boats
• 12 Patrol Boat, River (PBR)
• 2 Kaivan class patrol boats
• 2 Kangan class patrol boats
• 5 Combat Boat 90 fast assault craft
• 5 Fast Patrol Craft
• 2 Bandar Abbas light replenishment vessels
• 1 landing ship (logistics)
• 1 landing ship (utility)
• 1 logistical support ship
• 3 minesweepers (2 coastal, 1 inshore)
• 4 Delvar class minelayers
• 6 SRN-6 hovercraft
• 2 Wellington BH-7 hovercraft

Aircraft

• 18 CH-53D Sea Stallion heavy-lift helicopters
• 4 RH-53D Sea Stallion mine countermeasures helicopters
• 11 Bell 205 light-lift utility helicopters
• 9 Bell 206 multipurpose utility helicopters
• 7 SH-3A Sea King anti-submarine warfare helicopters
• 16 P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft
• 45 F/A-18 Hornet multirole fighters

Bushehr Fleet

Ships

• 1 Kouroush class destroyer
• 2 Moudge class frigates
• 1 Nahang 1 class submarine
• 3 Ghadir class submarines
• 4 Kaman class guided missile boats
• 8 Patrol Boat, River (PBR)
• 2 Kaivan class patrol boats
• 2 Kangan class patrol boats
• 4 Combat Boat 90 fast assault craft
• 4 Fast Patrol Craft
• 1 landing ship (logistics)
• 1 landing ship (utility)
• 1 logistical support ship
• 1 minesweeper (coastal)
• 3 Delvar class minelayers
• 2 SRN-6 hovercraft
• 4 Wellington BH-7 hovercraft

Aircraft

• 6 CH-53D Sea Stallion heavy-lift helicopters
• 1 RH-53D Sea Stallion mine countermeasures helicopter
• 5 Bell 205 light-lift utility helicopters
• 5 Bell 206 multipurpose utility helicopters
• 4 SH-3A Sea King anti-submarine warfare helicopters
• 10 P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft
• 30 F/A-18 Hornet multirole fighters

Caspian Sea Fleet

Ships

• 4 Patrol Boat, River (PBR)
• 3 Zafar class patrol boats
• 2 Combat Boat 90 fast assault craft
• 2 Fast Patrol Craft
• 1 Paykan class missile boat
• 1 minesweeper (inshore)

Aircraft

• 2 CH-53D Sea Stallion heavy-lift helicopters
• 1 RH-53D Sea Stallion mine countermeasures helicopter
• 3 Bell 205 light-lift utility helicopters
• 1 Bell 206 multipurpose utility helicopter
• 2 P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft

Marine division

The marine division forms a rapid reaction force designed to conduct amphibious combat operations in defense of Iran.

It has the following advantages:

1. Readiness within 72 hours
2. Small logistical footprint
3. Excellent tactical mobility

However, it has one notable disadvantage:

1. Lack of independence

The marine division consists of the following:

• 3 marine brigades
• 1 divisional aviation brigade
• Headquarters
  • 120 personnel with armored vehicles under the command of a Major-General

Marine brigade

A marine brigade is organized as follows:

• 4 marine infantry battalions
• 1 tank battalion
• 1 artillery battalion
• 1 aviation battalion
• 1 engineer battalion
• 1 reconnaissance squadron
• 1 support battalion
• Headquarters
  • 30 personnel commanded by a Brigadier

Marine infantry battalion

Each marine infantry battalion is comprised of 4 infantry companies, a fire support company, an engineer platoon, a logistics company, a reconnaissance platoon, and a headquarters.

The infantry company consists of 3 platoons and 1 company headquarters. Each platoon has three AAVP-7A1s for each of its squads. The squad's personnel include the section leader, two machine gunners, two grenadiers, and four riflemen, one of whom is a sniper. In these vehicles there are also the platoon commanding officer, the platoon executive officer, the platoon sergeant, and the medic. The Company Headquarters has two AAVP-7A1s (carrying the company CO, the company XO, the radio unit, three medics, the company sergeant-major, and a Watchkeeper WK450 UAV unit with two UAVs).

The fire support company consists of the following:

• Direct fire platoon
  • 8 LAV-EFSS (Expeditionary Fire Support System)
• Indirect fire platoon
  • 8 LAV-M (Mortar)
• Air defense platoon
  • 8 LAV-AD (Air Defense)
• Anti-tank platoon
  • 8 LAV-AT (Anti-Tank)
• Headquarters
  • 1 LAV-C2 (Command & Control)

The engineer platoon has two AAVR-7A1 Recovery Vehicles and two LAV-R (Recovery).

The logistics company consists of the following vehicles: ten LAV-LOG (Logistics) and sixteen BVS10 All Terrain Armored Vehicles.

The reconnaissance platoon has four LAV-25s, two AAVP-7A1s, and four HMMWVs (two of which carry the Watchkeeper WK450 UAV). The unit also includes a sniper section and two scout sections.

Headquarters is commanded by a colonel with a ten man staff, guarded by twenty security troops, and has two AAVC-7A1 Command Vehicles and four AAVP-7A1s.

Tank battalion

The tank battalion comprises 4 tank squadrons, a fire support company, an engineer platoon, a logistics company, a reconnaissance platoon, and a headquarters.

Each tank squadron consists of thirteen AMX-56 Leclerc MARS tugboat tanks.

The tank battalion's fire support company is noticeably smaller than that of the infantry battalion, consisting only of an indirect fire platoon and an air defense platoon (both organizationally similar to their counterparts in the infantry battalion).

The remaining units are identical to their counterparts in the infantry battalion, except for the engineer platoon, which uses two Leclerc EPG armored engineering tanks.

Artillery battalion

• 2 field artillery batteries
  • 8 M777 155mm towed howitzers
  • 8 M973A1 cargo carriers
  • 2 M981A3 Fire Support Team Vehicles
  • 1 AAVC-7A1 Command Vehicle
• 1 rocket battery
  • 8 Astros II self-propelled multiple rocket launchers
  • 1 AAVC-7A1 Command Vehicle
• 1 air defense battery
  • 8 M163 VADS self-propelled anti-aircraft guns
• Headquarters
  • 1 AAVC-7A1 Command Vehicle

Aviation battalion

• 12 AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters
• 12 CH-46 Sea Knight assault helicopters
• 12 CH-53 Sea Stallion heavy-lift transport helicopters
• 8 C-12 Huron civil utility aircraft
• 8 Watchkeeper WK450 UAVs

Engineer battalion

• 12 AAVR-7A1 Recovery Vehicles
• 12 M60A1 Armored Vehicle Launched Bridges
• 8 M3 Amphibious Rigs
• 12 LAV-R (Recovery)
• 4 Leclerc EPG armored engineering tanks

Reconnaissance squadron

• 12 LAV-25s
• 3 HMMWVs

Support battalion

• Logistics
  • 12 M973A2 Small Unit Support Vehicles
  • 12 BVS10 All Terrain Armored Vehicle
• Medical
  • 12 M1066 ambulances
• Military Intelligence
  • 2 HMMWVs (carrying Watchkeeper WK450 UAVs)
• Military Police
  • 6 M1114 up-armored armament carriers
• Signals Corps
  • 2 MC-130E Combat Talon I
• Chemical Corps
  • 2 M1135 Stryker NBC reconnaissance vehicles

Divisional aviation brigade

• 20 Alenia C-27J Spartan medium transports
• 16 CH-53 Sea Stallion heavy-lift transport helicopters
• 12 CH-46 Sea Knight assault helicopters
• 12 F/A-18 Hornet multirole fighters

Imperial Iranian Army
Ground Force | Air Force | Navy