Iran Unveils Its New Spying, Flying Boat

[Guest trigem]

Iran Unveils Its New Spying, Flying Boat | Danger Room | Wired.com

http://cnn.com/video/?/video/world/2010/09/28/vo.iran.flying.boats.avn

Iran Unveils Its New Spying, Flying Boat

• By Spencer Ackerman
  
• September 29, 2010 |
  
• 9:30 am |
  
• Categories: Rogue States
  

Iran’s mullahs may not get their advanced Russian anti-aircraft missiles. But they’re boasting about a souped-up capability to use against anyone who’d challenge them in the Persian Gulf: Flying boats. Again.

Iranian state TV broadcast these images of three squadrons of flying boats in time for an annual commemoration of the Iran-Iraq war. (Courtesy of CNN.) Judging from the video, the Bavar-2 (“Confidenceâ€) is a periwinkle-colored seaplane with a propeller grafted on the back, ferrying one or two naval aviators in open cockpits. In the demonstration video, the boats putter along in formation and glide slowly above the water, looking more like synchronized swimmers than an advanced fleet. Take that, would-be aggressors!

Official television claims the ship is armed with a machine gun, but the BBC reports that its primary mission is surveillance, owing to the cameras of unknown capability attached to it. If so, that would mark a change from the last time the Iranians unveiled their flying boats to the world.

In 2006, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps had developed a missile-equipped flying boat whose “advanced design makes it undetectable by any naval or aerial radar,†according to a translation by the Israeli MEMRI service. That earned Iran more ridicule than fear. Our own Noah Shachtman noted that the boats were similar to commercially available and decidedly less-fearsome seaplanes.

The demonstration took place on the coast of Iran’s southern Hormozgan province, near the narrow Strait of Hormuz, a global energy chokepoint. Although this version of the flying boat apparently lacks missiles, the intended message seems to be that anyone thinking of attacking Iran should be on notice that Iran has a new tool to block their oil shipments.

But Stephen Trimble at the DEW Line can barely contain his laughter. “You have to respect the courage of the pilots,†he writes. “These flimsy things make the Soviet ekranoplan designs look stable.†That takes some kind of “Confidence,†at least.

CORRECTION: My apologies to MEMRI for erroneously calling it an Israeli translation service. (Not that there’s anything wrong with being Israeli!)

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[vontar]

way for them to join the 1940's.

Almost looks like something some people might build in their backyard. I expected something a bit better.

[Guest clownsdd]

Looks easy enough to shoot down with a good skeet or trap gun

[vontar]

Looks easy enough to shoot down with a good skeet or trap gun

We might have to Dust off the Wright Flyer, since everything else we have might be to fast for those.

Being Serious, I bet our WW2 P51 Mustangs would be able to take them. Lets add even HellCats, P38 lightning and or Spitfire.

My favor Ally fights of WW2.

Edited October 3, 2010 by vontar

[Mechanic_X]

Russia built these things to. Not meant to fly just blast across the water. Thats what those Iranian things look like. Targets.

[vontar]

Yea, but Americans build stuff like this and race them for fun, minus the guns. (our speed boats)

The Russian design or the Iran design plan, neither look all that grand. Infact the way the engine the mounted on the Iran plan looks like an after thought.

Neither of those seem practical.

Probably a feel good move that they put on TV to make their people feel good, but those people have probably been so heavily censored they don't know what those would actually be up against.

However, I know Iran has Jet Technology, they got it from us, I believe we sold them F15's, which is part of the reason all of our decommissioned F15s are being destroyed to make sure their parts don't end up in the black market for Iran.