Shahid Mahdavi Iranian Aircraft Carrier

The Shahid Mahdavi Iranian Aircraft Carrier is a former Iranian flagged container ship that was converted into a warship at the Iran Shipbuilding & Offshore industries Complex Company (ISOICO) at Bandar Abbas. Since 2021, Iran has been working to turn merchant vessels into long-range strike platforms that extend the distance of its existing drone, cruise missile, and ballistic missile arsenals. The Shahid Mahdavi is at least the second such vessel to undergo such a transition and is certainly not going to be the last. The conversion adds a large cantilever flight deck on the port side. The fact that the superstructure spans the original deck means that a traditional aircraft carrier layout is not possible. The angles on the added flight deck are also not traditional. Possibly this hints at a flight deck running across from port to starboard ahead of the superstructure.