Mystery Facility North of Bandar Abbas

In a comment on the "IRGCN's 26th Missile Group" piece, a regular reader* drew my attention to a collection of military facilities about 20 km north of Bandar Abbas, broaching the possibility that they might also be linked to the IRGC . While I cannot comment on this with confidence, it is certainly plausible. Indeed, all things being equal, they probably are.


The most persuasive 'devil's advocate' argument against these being IRGC UGFs is the fact that the area is littered with manufacturing and other extraction-based industries, which suggests that these UGFs may simply be mines.

Given the balance of evidence, this scenario is unlikely. For instance, why would a mine be attached to a collection of hardened shelters typically associated with munition storage? Similarly, these sites lack many of the characteristics and associated mine-infrastructure found in other nearby extraction industries, which tend to be open-pit quarries rather than these horizontal shaft-types. The caveat to this claim is that it is made with little in-depth knowledge of what constitutes 'mine-infrastructure'.

Nonetheless, the nearby industrial compounds share a number of features typically used to identify military facilities including entry-control points, ordered/geometric building configurations, and perimeter fencing. This is further muddied by the fact that the sites in question differ considerably from the 'traditional' layouts associated with the units described on the Arkenstone thusfar - ground force maneuver units like NEZAJA armored brigades.

Thus, I offer the following without detailed conclusions for the moment. My hope is to ruminate on the issue, and crowdsource any alternative explanations. Given the importance of the Straits, and the role of the IRGC within them, it would not be unreasonable to assume these facilities have strategic significance (or, to be pedantic, tactical or operational significance).

Bandar Abbas area overview
UGF, area overview
UGF, garrison
UGF-adjacent hardened shelters
UGF, primary tunnel
UGF, secondary tunnels
 * A tip of the hat to 'NICO'.

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