A high-aspect-ratio twin-hull vessel (acronymed HARTH)[1] refers to a certain design of catamaran vessels with small waterplane area. These vessels are built and used by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of Iran. Such design is considered relatively rare in military usage.[2]

Design

The design of vessels is being described as looking "almost like a pond skater" because of the superstructure sitting above tall legs.[3] Due to the large length of the hulls in the water (also known as pontoons) and also the high height of the deck above the surface, it has a high length-to-width ratio (and is thus called high-aspect-ratio).[4] This design enables small speedboats to move under the ship, which can technically make certain tactical scenarios possible.[3] In comparison to a conventional catamaran, HARTH design allows decreasing the drag forces of the hull and thus breaking the seawater during sailing more easily, as well as more transverse stability in harsh sea states as a result of low heave, pitch and roll motion.[4]

The structure is made of aluminum.[1]

Types

  • Shahid Nazeri-class (also known as 'HARTH 55' by the U.S. Navy),[5] unveiled in 2016
  • Shahid Soleimani-class, at least three were confirmed to be under construction through commercial satellite imagery as of April 2021, one under construction at the Shahid Mahallati Shipyard in Bushehr, one in Qeshm Island and the other at small boatyard near Bandar Abbas.[3][6] It is 65 m (213 ft 3 in) long,[2] and its design has been compared to the Chinese Type 22 missile boat and the Taiwanese Tuo Chiang class.[3] The first ship entered service in September 2022.[7] It is equipped with 16 Nayyab short range air defense missiles and 6 Sayyad mid range air defense missiles as well as with four types of cruise missiles having ranges of 90, 140, 300 and 750 kilometers.[8]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Nadimi, Farzin (18 June 2020), "Iran Signals a Toughened Stance by Adding to Its Naval Arsenal", The Washington Institute for Near East Policy (PolicyWatch), no. 3335, retrieved 15 July 2020
  2. 1 2 Frantzman, Seth J. (29 June 2021), "Has Iran launched a new stealth missile boat?", The Jerusalem Post, retrieved 1 September 2021
  3. 1 2 3 4 Sutton, H. I. (23 March 2021), "Mysterious Ship In Iranian Shipyard Is Likely IRGC's New Flagship", Naval News, retrieved 1 September 2021
  4. 1 2 Soleimani, Ebrahim; Tabeshpour, Mohammad Reza; Seif, Mohammad Saeed (2020), "Parametric study of buckling and post-buckling behavior for an aluminum hull structure of a high-aspect-ratio twin hull vessel", Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, 234 (1): 15–25, doi:10.1177/1475090219868635, S2CID 202216446
  5. ↑ Iranian Naval Forces: A Tale of Two Navies (PDF), Office of Naval Intelligence, February 2017, p. 34, ISBN 978-0160939686
  6. ↑ Sutton, H. I. (29 March 2021), "Iran's New Missile Corvette Could Reshape IRGC Naval Doctrine", USNI News, retrieved 1 September 2021
  7. ↑ "Iranian Navy formally accepts the Shahid Soleimani class vessel".
  8. ↑ "IRGC Navy to Receive 2 New Warships".
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