Friday, March 21, 2014

Why Is Iran Building A Nonworking Mock-Up Of An American Nuclear-Powered Aircraft Carrier?

Iran is building a mock-up of a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier in one of its naval shipyards, near Bandar Abbas. Credit Digitalglobe

Iranian Ship, in Plain View but Shrouded in Mystery, Looks Very Familiar to U.S. -- New York Times

WASHINGTON — Iran is building a nonworking mock-up of an American nuclear-powered aircraft carrier that United States officials say may be intended to be blown up for propaganda value.

Intelligence analysts studying satellite photos of Iranian military installations first noticed the vessel rising from the Gachin shipyard, near Bandar Abbas on the Persian Gulf, last summer. The ship has the same distinctive shape and style of the Navy’s Nimitz-class carriers, as well as the Nimitz’s number 68 neatly painted in white near the bow. Mock aircraft can be seen on the flight deck.

The Iranian mock-up, which American officials described as more like a barge than a warship, has no nuclear propulsion system and is only about two-thirds the length of a typical 1,100-foot-long Navy carrier. Intelligence officials do not believe that Iran is capable of building an actual aircraft carrier.

Read more ....

Update: Iran Is Building A Shoddy Replica Of A US Navy Aircraft Carrier For Some Reason -- Business Insider

My Comment: If the above reports are true .... what a total waste of money.

4 comments:

Don Bacon said...

A bigger waste of money than the Nimitz?

War News Updates Editor said...

LOL. That's a good one Don.

Alex said...

This is the naval equivalent to the phony 'Iranian Stealth Fighter' we all saw pictures of.

James said...

It could be for practice, say generating certain radar and visua signatures. A lot of money for that, but if you sink just one.