TEHRAN - Iran will unveil speedboats that can move as fast as 80 knots/h by the end of the current Iranian year, the IRGC Naval Force chief announced on Wednesday.

Ali Fadavi also said the IRGC intends to hold two naval drills by the end of the current year which ends on March 19, Tasnim reported.

Another military exercise may be held jointly with the Navy, he added.

He also commented on recent reports about the U.S. Navy’s plans to increase its capabilities against Iranian speedboats.

The commander said the U.S. faces three threats at sea: one is IRGC speedboats, the other is mines, and the third is IRGC torpedoes. He added the U.S. will be helpless in confrontation with Iranian speedboats no matter how hard it tries to improve its power.

In an article published two weeks ago, National Interest wrote the U.S. Navy appears to have a new low-cost plan to counter Iran’s fleet of speedboats.

As part of its asymmetric naval doctrine, Iran has amassed a fleet of Fast Inshore Attack Craft (FIAC) and speedboats equipped with anti-ship cruise missiles. The strategy aims to overwhelm U.S. warships operating in the Persian Gulf through the use of swarm tactics.

“In 2002, a joint war game exercise, known as Millennium Challenge 2002 (MC02), took place to gauge readiness in the event of a conflict with a hostile Middle Eastern nation. The results were disastrous for the U.S., with over a dozen ships destroyed and thousands killed or wounded as a result of asymmetric and unconventional naval warfare. 14 years later, Iranian asymmetrical warfare can still have a devastating effect on U.S. and allied forces in the Middle East,” National Interest had written.


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