TEHRAN (FNA) - A senior commander of the Iranian Army's Navy announced on Saturday that the navy will launch medium-size submarines in the next two years.

""God willing, we will launch a medium-size class, 500-ton submarine in the next two years and we will reach self-sufficiency in this field (in building this class of submarines),"" Navy's Lieutenant Commander for Self-Sufficiency Admiral Farhad Amiri told FNA.
He underlined that Iran's defense industries are currently mass producing different classes of submarines and that the vessels have boosted the country's sub-surface capability.
""We can claim that all the needs of the (naval) force are supplied from inside the country, thanks to the efforts made by local experts,"" the commander reiterated.
Elsewhere, Amiri pointed to a newly launched missile-launching frigate in the jetty of Iran's fourth naval zone in Iran's northern province of Mazandaran, and added, ""The frigate is among the Navy's missile launching frigates used in southern waters (in the Persian Gulf).""
Iran has been pushing an arms development program in recent years in a bid to reach self-sufficiency. It has produced its own jet fighters and armored vehicles as well as radar-avoiding missiles and other high-tech weapons.
Iran announced in June that a home-made submarine, named Ghadir 948, had joined the naval brigade of the first naval zone.
In November, Iran announced that its first domestically built Ghadir class submarine launched operation.
The Iranian military said that the submarine can easily evade detection as it is equipped with sonar-evading technology and can fire missiles and torpedoes simultaneously.
Iran's Navy Commander Rear Admiral Sayyari said in November that Ghadir-class submarines are the second Iranian-built underwater craft outfitted with ""state-of-the-art electronic equipment."" He said it took 10 years to build the submarine.