TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran’s Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi announced on Monday that his ministry will soon supply new air defense systems to the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC).
“In coming days, we will supply a number of air defense systems to the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps,” Vahidi told reporters on Monday.
The Iranian Defense Ministry on Wednesday supplied a large number of highly advanced coast-to-sea cruise missiles to the Army’s naval forces.
The missiles were delivered to the Navy in a ceremony attended by Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi and Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari.
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The move came on the verge of the National Navy Day on November 28.
Tehran launched an arms development program during the 1980-88 Iraqi imposed war on Iran to compensate for a US weapons embargo. Since 1992, Iran has produced its own tanks, armored personnel carriers, missiles and fighter planes.
Yet, Iranian officials have always stressed that the country’s military and arms programs serve defensive purposes and should not be perceived as a threat to any other country.
In April, 2011, Iran successfully test-fired two mid-range Hawk missiles named ‘Shahin’ capable of tracing and targeting aggressive aircraft at low and medium altitudes.
The two Shahin missiles were launched from the home-made Mersad air defense system.
The Mersad air defense shield is a completely indigenized system developed by the Iranian experts and technicians to promote the country’s combat power. The system was deployed in all Army air-defense units on Sunday to boost the country’s air-defense power.
The Mersad system equipped with Shahin missiles is capable of tracing and targeting any enemy aircrafts at 70 to 150km altitude and is considered as a mid-altitude system among the country’s missile defense shields.
