The Besat class (زیردریایی کلاس بعثت, former designation Qaaem class) is an Iranian submarine class that is being built for the Iranian Navy by the defense company Marine Industries Organization .
On August 25, 2008, the then Iranian Defense Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najar announced that Iran had started construction of the first submarine of the class, then known as the Qaaem . They should be bigger and heavier than the Fateh class submarines and technologically correspond to the German submarine class 209 . After the commissioning of the Fateh-class submarines has been completed, the Besat-class will be introduced, according to an Iranian military member. The new submarine class is equipped with six torpedo tubes from which, in addition to underwater mines and torpedoes , light missiles can also be ejected when submerged, which should be able to attack air or sea targets from the surface of the water. The Besat class is said to have a fuel cell drive that is to be developed by Iranian companies. The submarine will weigh more than 3000 tons and be equipped with a vertical take-off system (VLS) for new types of missiles.
