A newly minted and massive Iranian drone carrier was captured in new satellite images sailing in the Persian Gulf this week — the ship’s first reported sighting since leaving its home port for the first time in mid-November.
The satellite images taken Thursday by commercial operator Maxar Technologies shows three Iranian drone ships in the waters off the country’s coast as theories have swirled in the US that Iran could be behind the mysterious drone sightings across the tri-state area, according to Business Insider.
The Middle Eastern country’s new carrier — the Shahid Bagheri — is a converted shipping container that was outfitted to support drone operations and was last seen on Nov. 12, when it was captured by satellite imagery sitting in Bandar Abbas, the report said.
The Shahid Bagheri left its home Iranian home port sometime between Nov. 12 and Nov. 28, revealed by satellite imagery that shows an empty dock where the ship once sat, according to another Business Insider report.
The new carrier was believed to have headed straight to the Persian Gulf to partake in naval exercises, the report said.
The new images from this week show the overhauled ship was pictured with two other Iranian drone vessels — Shahid Roudaki and Shahid Mahdavi — off the Bandar Abbas port in the Persian Gulf, according to NDTV.
