Baku, Azerbaijan, March 5
By Umid Niayesh - Trend:
The Iranian army and Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) have been issued with several indigenously-made ballistic missiles as well as a 'Mersad' air defence system, the country's Fars news agency reported on March 5.
The Iranian Defence Ministry has supplied Army's Khatam al-Anbiya Air Defence Base and IRGC Aerospace Force with homemade 'Qadr', 'Qiyam', 'Fateh- 110' and 'Khlaije Fars' missiles and a 'Mersad' air defence system.
Defence Minister, Brig. Gen. Hossein Dehghan attended the delivery ceremony held on March 5 in Tehran.
The 'Qadr H1' ballistic missile and mid-range 'Qiam' missile are capable of being launched from mobile launchers, Dehghan said.
The missiles having stealth capabilities, are able to cross missile defence shields, he added.
A Qadr long range ballistic missile can reportedly destroy targets at distances of over 200 km.
Surface-to-surface Fateh-110 missiles have a 250 to 300 kilometre range, carry a 500- 600 kilogramme warhead depending on the model and significantly, have a relatively advanced guidance system.
Khalije Fars is a supersonic anti-ship quasi ballistic missile with a range of 300 km based on the Fateh-110 missile. It is equipped with a 650kg explosive warhead and an interception evading guidance system.
Dehaghan went on to say that both Fateh-110 and Khalije Fars are categorised as fourth generation of ultra-modern ballistic missiles with a solid-propellant.
Mersad is an Iranian advanced low to mid-range air defence system which fires Shahin (Falcon) missiles. The missiles which are reverse engineered, domestically upgraded versions of the American MIM-23 Hawk surface-to-air missile. It uses a series of domestically produced radars and electronic devices and is capable of intercepting ballistic missiles.
In Dec. 2013, Dehqan said that the country's military experts have enhanced the precision of domestically-designed and manufactured long-range and ballistic missiles to the level that the projectiles can strike targets with pinpoint accuracy.
Earlier in Nov. 2013, Deputy Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Brigadier General Hossein Salami said Iranian missiles enjoy high precision against point targets and are capable of targeting moving vessels at sea.
On Feb. 9, Iran test-fired two ballistic missiles naming them as a response to the U.S. official statement that the 'military option against Iran is still on the table'.
Iranian media outlets report that Iran has made great achievements in its defence sector and attained self-sufficiency in producing essential military equipment and systems in recent years. Tehran established an arms development programme during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s to counter the weapons embargo imposed on it by the U.S. and its Western allies.
Since 1992, Iran has manufactured its own tanks, armoured personnel carriers, missiles, radars, boats, submarines and fighter planes. Iran also unveiled its first domestically-manufactured long-range Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) in 2010.