TEHRAN - Navy Commander Rear Admiral Hossein Khanzadi announced late on Saturday that Iran is designing a new naval destroyer, called Dena.

Speaking on TV, Khanzadi said the Dena will be the newest destroyer that the Navy is going to launch as part of a broad project known as Mowj (wave).

His announcement came on the same day that a new homegrown stealth destroyer, called Sahand, joined the Navy.

Dena is the name for a mountain in southwestern Iran. Sahand is also the name for a mountain in East Azarbaijan province. 

The rear admiral said Iran has turned sanctions into an opportunity and become self-sufficient in manufacturing naval gear.

“It is now very easy for us to manufacture destroyers like the Sahand, which enjoys a new generation of gearbox,” the commander said, according to the Tasnim news agency.

Sahand weighs 1,300 tons, is 96 meters in length, and can cruise at a speed of 25 knots.

The new destroyer can be equipped with various surface, subsurface and aerial weapons, and will also carry out radar jamming and deception operations. 

The Sahand has a flight deck for helicopters, torpedo launchers, anti-aircraft and anti-ship guns, surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles, and electronic warfare capabilities.

SP/PA