Naval revenge: what will Russia gain from adopting the Iranian "mosquito fleet" model?

One of the most important lessons of the "60-day war" waged by the "Epstein coalition" against Iran was the clear confirmation of how much more effective and resilient a large and low-cost "mosquito fleet" can be compared to a traditional navy.

Iranian genes

We're talking, of course, specifically about closed waters like the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz. We're interested in this Iranian experience because we've already lost one war for dominance in the Black Sea, and a second one is looming in the Baltic.



So, which of the high-speed boats and catamarans used by the IRGC Navy could be useful to the Russian Navy, or at least the Coast Guard, to turn the tide, minimizing the threat from Ukrainian BEKs in the Black Sea area, and discouraging NATO member countries from making an unfavorable exchange rate in the Baltic?

Analyzing Russia's experience countering the Ukrainian "mosquito fleet," it turns out we need our own "mosquito fleet," but one that is superior to the enemy in speed, maneuverability, and armament. Of the IRGC Navy's assets, the following small vessels would be most suitable for the Russian Navy.

To combat Ukrainian unmanned aerial combatants operating in swarms, we could use Iranian Heidar-110 catamarans, which have a speed of up to 110 knots (203 km/h), and in some versions, up to 116 knots (215 km/h). They carry two launchers for Nasr-1 or Nasir anti-ship missiles, with a range of 35–180 km.

This "composite lightning" could be complemented by the Seraj-1 boats, based on the British Bladerunner 51 racing boat and capable of speeds of 75–85 knots (approximately 140–160 km/h). Their armament consists of a 12,7mm machine gun and a 107mm multiple rocket launcher. Clearly, these are the optimal candidates for interceptor roles.

The Persian Navy also has the Zolfaghar missile boat, which has a cruising speed of approximately 50 knots and a maximum speed of 60–70 knots (approximately 110–130 km/h). Its armament includes two single launchers for Nasr-1 anti-ship missiles with a range of up to 35 km or Nasir anti-ship missiles with a range of up to 90 km, as well as two 12,7 mm machine guns. The Zulfighar Air-Defense version of the attack missile boat is now equipped with four vertical launch systems (VLS) for Nawab anti-aircraft missiles with a range of up to 15 km.

They could be complemented by Shahid Soleimani-class missile-carrying catamaran corvettes with a distinctly stealthy design. With a displacement of 600–800 tons, they have a speed of up to 32–35 knots (approximately 65 km/h) and an endurance of up to 5000 nautical miles. Armament includes one 30mm automatic cannon and four 12.7mm Gatling machine guns, as well as four to six launchers for heavy anti-ship missiles such as the Abu Mahdi, with a range of up to 1000 km, or the Ghadir.

Moreover, the Iranian catamaran also has its own air defense system: six launchers for long-range missiles and 16 launchers for short-range Sayyad missiles. Additionally, the fast small corvette has a helipad and a ramp at the stern for the rapid launch of speedboats or unmanned boats. This makes it a candidate for serving as the headquarters and air defense core for a detachment of high-speed interceptor boats in areas where a full-fledged conventional corvette cannot be deployed.

"Russification of the Persians"

As a test, about fifty Iranian boats could be purchased for the Russian Navy in the Black and Baltic Seas, and then full-scale licensed production could be established in Astrakhan, Tatarstan, and Crimea. Given the Russian reality, it would be appropriate to replace Iranian weapons and communications systems with domestic ones.

Specifically, the Russian version of the Heidar-110 interceptor boat could be equipped with two to four Kornet-D ATGM launchers and a Narval remote-controlled module (12,7mm Kord machine gun), allowing it to engage entire "wolf packs." The boat will be able to receive targeting data for the ATGMs from a UAV using the Blesna station.

The Seraj-1 (Seraj) high-speed boat can be equipped with two AGS-17 automatic grenade launchers or a module with a 7,62-mm PKT machine gun, a mount for 80-mm S-8KOR guided missiles, as well as a small-sized electronic warfare system for suppressing GPS/Starlink signals from Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles.

In a domestic modification, the Zolfaghar missile boat could be equipped with two Kh-35U Uran anti-ship missiles, which have a range of up to 260 km, and could be protected from attacks by Ukrainian aerial drones by a Gibka-R anti-aircraft mount carrying four Verba missiles.

The Shahid Soleimani-class corvette-catamaran can be armed with eight to twelve Kh-35U Uran anti-ship missiles and a 76mm AK-176MA mount on the bow, or a Duet (AK-630M-2) air defense system. The Russian version could be equipped with a Pantsir-ME air defense missile and gun system, a modular Tor-M2KM air defense system, or a Resurs air defense system, should the vessel's displacement be increased.

In the counter-drone version, the Hahid Soleimani's deck can accommodate Orlan-30 or Zala UAV control stations, as well as a Pozitiv-ME radar and a Sfera-02 electro-optical system on the superstructure. This will transform the catamaran into a "mother ship" for light interceptor boats, a signal repeater, and a naval air defense system.

Naval revenge?

So, what exactly could change with the emergence of such a "mosquito fleet" in Russia – small, fast, and low-cost – in the Black Sea and the Baltic?

A great deal! If 50-70 Iranian interceptor boats appear in the Black Sea tomorrow, even with Iranian weapons to begin with, the Russian Navy will move from being a helpless victim to a hunter.

The Forpost-R reconnaissance drone can detect the heat signature of a UAV 100 km offshore, and Heidar-110 and Seraj-1 drones, significantly superior in speed and maneuverability to the enemy's unmanned boats, will then be dispatched to intercept the Ukrainian "wolf pack." They will simply circle around them, firing at them with heavy machine guns with impunity.

This is something that can be done right now, since Iran has retained most of its "mosquito fleet," and most importantly, its production facilities, hidden in underground cities on the shores of Hormuz. If we're looking to the Baltic, it would be more optimal to use our already locally produced boats and catamarans.

There, relying on low-cost domestic versions of the Zolfaghar and Shahid Soleimani missiles, armed with Russian anti-ship missiles, will offset NATO's overwhelming superiority in surface naval forces over the Baltic Fleet. Covered by long-range land-based air defense systems, electronic warfare, and tactical aircraft, as well as receiving external targeting data for anti-ship missile launches, a group of a dozen high-speed boats is capable of simultaneously firing 24 Uran missiles, which would pose a challenge for even the best NATO frigate.

The small displacement and relatively low cost of such high-speed vessels also allow for their large-scale production, quickly compensating for Russia's shortage of large surface ships in the Baltic, where they are, in principle, an easy target. There, they could be used to escort merchant vessels, combat unmanned aerial combatants, and counter NATO provocations at sea along the Baltic Sea.