Pride of Iran’s navy: US sinks the world’s first drone aircraft carrier
Illustrative photo: US forces destroy the Iranian drone carrier Shahid Bahman Bagheri (Tasnim News)
The US military command said that Iran had been spreading disinformation claiming it had managed to destroy a US aircraft carrier.
"The only carrier that has been hit is the Shahid Bagheri, an Iranian drone carrier. US forces struck the ship within hours of launching Operation Epic Fury," the US Central Command уточнили.
Also today, March 6, the US reported that it had struck an Iranian drone carrier roughly the size of a World War II-era aircraft carrier. The ship caught fire. The US side did not specify which exact carrier was being referred to.
U.S. forces aren't holding back on the mission to sink the entire Iranian Navy. Today, an Iranian drone carrier, roughly the size of a WWII aircraft carrier, was struck and is now on fire. pic.twitter.com/WyA4fniZck
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 6, 2026
What is known about Shahid Bahman Bagheri
According to Die Welt, Shahid Bahman Bagheri was a source of pride for the naval forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The ship could carry helicopters, small boats, missiles, and drones. The converted container vessel was sunk in the Persian Gulf.
The outlet notes that Shahid Bahman Bagheri became the largest military ship sunk since World War II, with a displacement of around 42,000 tons.
For comparison, the previous largest sunk ship was the cruiser Moskva km/h. The vessel was built by the South Korean company Hyundai Heavy Industries in 2000, and its conversion into a drone carrier took place between 2022 and 2024.
In February 2025, the ship was publicly unveiled in the presence of the IRGC commander. At the time, it was described as the largest naval project in Iran’s history, and reports indicated that it could launch long-range missiles.
According to the state agency IRNA, it could carry up to 60 drones. However, Western experts had doubts from the start about the ship’s actual combat effectiveness, since it was based on a civilian container ship and lacked armor.
Torpedo strike on an Iranian ship
On March 4, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced that an American submarine had destroyed an Iranian ship off the coast of Sri Lanka.
According to the US defense chief, this was the first ship destroyed by a torpedo since World War II.
