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Breaking News: Iran Demonstrates Fajr-5 Rocket Launcher for Sea Mine Laying Threatening Global Maritime Security.
On January 25, 2025, Iranian state television unveiled a striking new tactic the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) employed during their naval exercises: using the Fajr-5 Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) to lay sea mines. This novel application of Iran’s well-known artillery rocket system raised eyebrows within military circles, as it introduces a highly efficient method of deploying sea mines over a broad area at long distances. Traditionally, sea mines have been deployed using specialized naval vessels or aircraft. Still, Iran’s adaptation of the Fajr-5 MLRS to deliver mines offers an innovative approach that could have profound implications for both regional and global maritime security.
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Fajr-5 Multiple Launch Rocket System MLRS in Action: Iranian forces demonstrate the deployment of sea mines during a naval exercise, showcasing a new capability for maritime security threats. (Picture source: Iranian TV)
The Fajr-5 MLRS is an Iranian-made, medium-range multiple launch rocket system designed to deliver large-scale artillery rocket fire over significant distances. It is part of Iran’s efforts to bolster its conventional artillery and missile capabilities, offering a cost-effective yet powerful means of conducting bombardment operations.
Typically, the Fajr-5 is mounted on a truck-based platform, making it highly mobile and capable of rapid deployment in a variety of terrain. The system is capable of firing rockets that range from 80 to 100 kilometers, depending on the specific variant. These rockets can carry a variety of payloads, including high-explosive fragmentation, anti-personnel, and, as seen in recent exercises, sea mines. The Fajr-5’s launch platform is designed to fire multiple rockets in quick succession, delivering a saturation effect to overwhelm targets over a wide area. The flexibility and mobility of the Fajr-5 make it particularly useful in asymmetric warfare, allowing Iran to strike high-value targets while remaining elusive quickly. Additionally, the system has been adapted for use in several theaters of conflict, reflecting its versatility and importance in Iran’s military doctrine. While it has conventional uses in targeting ground forces and infrastructure, the recent demonstration of its ability to lay sea mines marks a notable evolution in its tactical application.
The recent Iranian naval exercise showcased the Fajr-5 launching several rockets, each carrying sea mines designed to disrupt naval operations and commercial shipping. This marks a significant shift in Iran’s naval strategy, adding a new layer to its already sophisticated array of asymmetric tactics. Using MLRS to lay mines allows for a highly mobile and effective means of creating minefields, without relying on more detectable or vulnerable platforms like dedicated mine-laying ships. The ability to rapidly deploy mines over a large area with the Fajr-5 makes this method a powerful tool for disrupting naval traffic, particularly in regions like the Strait of Hormuz, which is a vital passage for global oil shipments.
Sea mines, in general, have long been a weapon of choice in asymmetric warfare. They are particularly effective in chokepoints or high-traffic maritime areas where they can significantly hinder the movement of enemy naval forces or commercial shipping. By using a rocket artillery system to deploy these mines, Iran has found a way to enhance its capacity for maritime denial, particularly in critical corridors like the Strait of Hormuz or the Bab-el-Mandeb. Given the importance of these waterways in global energy transit, the ability to use rockets to rapidly and covertly lay sea mines could have disastrous economic and geopolitical consequences.
Iran’s development of this capability is not entirely unprecedented, though it is relatively unique. Countries like Russia have also employed artillery-based systems for laying mines. Russia’s Zemledeliye system, for instance, uses rocket artillery to deploy mines in both land and sea environments. This method allows for the rapid establishment of minefields and can be employed to target both land forces and maritime vessels. Such systems have become increasingly important in modern warfare, particularly for nations and militias that lack the resources to compete with superior naval powers directly. The concept of using missile-launched sea mines is gaining traction in many parts of the world, with countries like North Korea and Ukraine also having explored similar methods to challenge more technologically advanced adversaries.
Despite this, Iran's application of the Fajr-5 to lay sea mines is particularly significant due to the strategic context in which it is deployed. The ability to lay mines using MLRS systems can significantly alter the balance of power in maritime regions, particularly in the Middle East. For instance, if Iran’s MLRS capabilities were to be shared with proxy groups such as Hezbollah in Lebanon or the Houthi rebels in Yemen, these groups could gain access to a highly effective method of disrupting the flow of global energy. In fact, it is precisely in these contested regions that the tactical advantage of laying mines without the need for traditional naval assets becomes most apparent. Groups that might otherwise be unable to challenge the naval might of Western powers could employ such systems to effectively cut off vital maritime routes, creating uncertainty and economic disruption on a global scale.
The use of the Fajr-5 MLRS for laying sea mines underscores the broader strategic shift towards asymmetric warfare in which countries and non-state actors are increasingly relying on low-cost, high-impact tactics to undermine superior military forces. This tactic, while not entirely unique, adds to the growing trend of countries and factions leveraging missile systems in unconventional ways to achieve tactical goals. For Iran, which is already well-versed in asymmetric naval tactics, the ability to rapidly and covertly lay sea mines enhances its power projection in strategic maritime regions.
The global ramifications of this new development could be far-reaching. The Strait of Hormuz, through which a significant portion of the world’s oil supply passes, could become a highly contested zone. The ability to rapidly lay sea mines in such areas could give Iran—or any actor equipped with similar technology—substantial leverage over global shipping and energy flows. In times of conflict, such minefields could cripple naval operations, halt commercial shipping, and disrupt the global economy. As tensions in the region continue to simmer, this new capability becomes a tool of naval denial, forcing adversaries to reconsider their strategies in regions where free passage has traditionally been guaranteed.
Iran’s recent demonstration of using the Fajr-5 MLRS to lay sea mines represents a game-changing development in modern naval tactics. While missile-based mine-laying is not entirely new, the use of the Fajr-5 system for this purpose adds a new layer of asymmetric warfare to Iran’s already extensive military playbook. The potential for other nations or proxy groups to adopt similar strategies raises serious questions about the future of maritime security, particularly in regions vital to global trade and energy. As more nations and militant groups gain access to such technologies, the world may see an increasing number of missile-laid minefields, which could reshape the landscape of modern naval warfare.