Iran destroys mock U.S. aircraft carrier in naval wargames

February 25, 2015 Aircraft Carriers, Iran, Troubled Areas
David Cenciotti

Do you remember Iran’s mock Nimitz class flattop? Here’s what it was built for.

On Feb. 25, a mock U.S. aircraft carrier, was destroyed by missiles launched by Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps missiles during the IRGC Navy’s massive Payambar-e Azam 9 (The Great Prophet 9) drills in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.

The model had first appeared in April last year, when images of the mock USS Nimitz class ship being assembled in an Iranian shipyard on the Persian Gulf had spread through social media.

Although the purpose of the fake carrier was not clear back then we mentioned the possibility the giant warship (adorned with several airplanes) might have been built to test weapons or serve as a training tool to develop tactics to attack a U.S. flattop in the Persian Gulf exploiting its vulnerabilities.

According to the FARS News Agency, the model came under attack and was destroyed by missiles and rockets fired from tens of IRGC speedboats; also a number of the IRGC cruise and two ballistic missiles were fired at the mock US aircraft carrier.

H/T to Giuliano Ranieri for the heads-up

About David Cenciotti
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David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written five books and contributed to many more ones.

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10 Comments

    • It’s like that “optimism, pass it on” commercial. With the dorky kid with a bat and a ball that says, “I’m the best hitter in the world!” and he tosses the ball up, and whiffs. Tries it three times, and realizes, “I’m the best PITCHER in the world!”

      Iran: “We’re the best Navy in the world!!!”…… hits the “carrier” with everything they’ve got, and it’s just happily floating.

      They look around at each other, shrug, and: “We’re the best *shipbuilder* in the world!”

  4. not only forget the defensive assets, but they almost killed each other with the 2 misfires from the small boats.

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