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Overhauled warship, combat chopper rejoin Iran’s Navy

01 December 2015 [15:58] - TODAY.AZ

A newly overhauled warship and combat helicopter, as well as a transport airplane have rejoined the Iranian Navy.

The SH-3D combat helicopter, the ‘Tonb’ warship, as well as the ‘Fokker F27 Friendship’ aircraft rejoined the navy during a ceremony attended by Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari in Iran’s southern port of Bandar Abbas Dec. 1, the IRNA agency reported.

Sayyari said the SH-3D helicopter was overhauled after remaining grounded for 18 years.

Rear Admiral Abbas Zamini, who is in charge of the Navy's technical affairs, said the chopper, known as the ‘Sea King’, has anti-submarine capabilities and can carry missiles and torpedoes.

He further said that deployment of forces, monitoring of waterways, reconnaissance operations, deployment of paratrooper and divers, aerial rescue and relief are among the helicopter’s missions.

“The plane was overhauled after 110,000 person-hour operation,” he added.

The Sikorsky SH-3 ‘Sea King’ is an American twin-engine anti-submarine warfare (ASW) helicopter designed and built by Sikorsky Aircraft.

Introduced in 1961, it served in the United States Navy as a key ASW and utility asset for several decades before being replaced by the non-amphibious Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk in the 1990s.

Pointing to the specifics of the overhauled ‘Tonb’ warship, Zamini said that it is a logistic and combat vessel capable of carrying helicopters, armored personnel carriers and tanks, as well as deploy forces.

“The overhauling of the combat vessel, which weighs 3,000 tons, took nearly 42 months,” the commander said.

Zamini also said the other overhauled aircraft, ‘Fokker F27 Friendship’, is used for marine patrol missions, deployment of troops, rescue and relief and unloading paratroopers.

“It took the Navy technicians 36 months to overhaul the aircraft,” he added.

Iranian media outlets reported that in recent years, Tehran made great strides in its defense sector and attained self-sufficiency in producing essential military equipment and systems.

In September 2014, Iranian media outlets reported that Islamic Republic experts successfully overhauled US-made F-4 and F-14 fighter jets.

Last year, Iranian Air Force experts reportedly overhauled several Sukhoi Su-24 fighter jets for the first time.

/By Trend/

URL: http://www.today.az/news/regions/145616.html

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