Baku, Azerbaijan, April 18
By Umid Niayesh - Trend:
Iran unveiled its various home-made military equipment today, during the parade on the occasion of Day of the Iranian Armed Forces.
All units of the Iranian Armed Forces and the Islamic revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) including Air Force fighters participated in the parade which took place in front of the mausoleum of former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini on April 18, the country's ISNA news agency reported.
Iranian president Hassan Rouhani and senior military commanders attended the ceremony.
During the parade, the upgraded models of home-made Zulfiqar, Samsam and Sabalan tanks, Akhgar and Moharram machine guns, Poush and Ghader mobile missile launchers, and Arash radar system were exhibited.
Commander of Iran's Khatam al-Anbia Air Defense Base Brigadier General, Farzad Esmaili said that the unveiled mobile launchers will increase Iranian defence system's capabilities.
Commenting on the Arash radar system, Esmaili said that it is a long-range radar system, which has high capability of detecting targets in electronic warfare.
The unveiled six-barrel, 50-caliber machine gun "Moharram" has a firing rate of 2000 rounds per minute.
Another home-made 76-caliber, gatling-type machine gun "Akhgar" which was unveiled, has an effective range of more than 2 km and has a firing rate of 4000 to 6000 rounds per minute, according to some Iranian media outlets.
Iranian military officials have previously announced that the country will start mass production of the newly unveiled models of Zulfiqar and Samsam tanks.
Iranian media outlets claim Iran has made great achievements in its defence sector and attained self-sufficiency in producing essential military equipment and systems in recent years.
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.