Traditional naval mining operations have always required vessels to approach target areas, lay mines, and withdraw, exposing ships to potential detection and attack. But recent reports from Iran suggest the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy has developed a method to bypass this vulnerability by combining rocket technology with underwater warfare capabilities.
According to Iranian sources, the Revolutionary Guards have modified Fajr-5 rockets, 333mm diameter projectiles originally designed as artillery weapons—to carry naval mines instead of conventional warheads. This adaptation would allow mines to be transported from coastal launch sites to offshore locations without requiring ships to enter potentially hostile waters: Instead of naval vessels navigating to mining zones, the system launches mines from land-based positions, with the payload traveling to its destination by rocket.
