Iran to Unveil New Long-Range Missile
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran will in the near future unveil a new type of long-range air-to-air missile, a top commander announced Tuesday.
“The project of Maqsoud (Purpose) long-range air-to-air missile will come on stream in the near future,” Deputy Chief of Staff of Iran's Armed Forces Brigadier General Mohammad Hejazi said in a conference on air-launched weaponry, here in Tehran on Tuesday.
Hejazi further told the conference that Iranian military experts and researchers are currently working on 17 major aerospace projects,adding that another 11 important projects in aerial industries are under development.
In a separate development on September 25, Iranian defense minister unveiled the air-launched version of two indigenous cruise missiles, Qader (Capable) and Nasr (Victory), to be mounted on fighter jets.
Meantime,in a ceremony here in Tehran on Wednesday, Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan unveiled the air-launched versions of Qader and Nasr missiles, which had been originally designed and mass-produced as anti-ship cruise missiles.
“After designing and mass producing Qader and Nasr anti-ship cruise missiles, the adroit and skillful specialists of the defense ministry’s aerospace organization managed to design and produce the air-launched versions of these missiles with exemplary creativity and innovation,” the minister explained.
The newly-developed missiles are planned to be mounted on the country’s fighter aircraft, enabling the Air Force to dramatically enhance its operational and deterrent capabilities, Brigadier General Dehqan pinted out.
He further noted that the air-launched versions of Qader and Nasr missiles are able to hit targets within a range of 200 km and 35 km, respectively.
The main features of the new missiles, Dehqan said, are quick preparation capability, usefulness in low-altitude flights, high precision in hitting targets, particularly naval vessels, great destructive power and high resistance to radio disruption tactics.
