The Iranian air-force plans to stage an aerial exercise that will see fighter jets fly over a distance of around 3,600 km (2,240 miles), and bomb targets, Press TV reported.
Conducting long-distance mock operations is the main objective of the aerial maneuver, dubbed Milad-Noor-Velayat, according to Air Force commander Brigadier General Hassan Shah-Safi.
"After this exercise, our fighters will be able to bomb targets more than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) away," the commander said after arriving at one of the maneuver sites in southern Iran on Monday.
The planned exercise, the first phase of which has been completed, is also expected to include electronic warfare tests and wireless audio signal transmission trials.
During the drill, another group of fighter jets will also fly 700 kilometers (435 miles) at lower altitudes over water.
In his comments, Brig. Gen. Hassan Shah-Safi stressed that the maneuver was strictly a "defensive exercise", as the message Iran was trying to send to other countries in the region was one of "peace and brotherhood."
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