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Iran starts mass production of anti-warship cruise missiles

16 March 2015 13:10 (UTC+04:00)
Iran starts mass production of anti-warship cruise missiles

By Sara Rajabova

Despite the international sanctions imposed on Iran over its nuclear energy program, the Islamic Republic continues to increase its military and defense capability with new weapons.

Iran has started the mass production of a domestically-manufactured anti-warship cruise missile - Qadir.

The mass production of the long-range missile was launched by the Defense Ministry's Aerospace Industries Organization, Press TV reported.

Several Qadir missiles were handed over to the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps' naval forces after it was unveiled last August in a ceremony with President Hassan Rouhani and the defense chief in attendance.

Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan, Iran’s defense minister said the Qadir missile has already gone through research and prototyping processes as well as successful aviation tests.

He added that Qadir is a new generation of Iranian cruise missiles with a range of 300 kilometers, featuring quick reaction capability, the ability to fly at low altitude, great precision and high destructive power.

Dehqan further noted that the missile is equipped with advanced radars and is capable of being launched from different vessels and helicopters.

He emphasized such great features of the marine missile have provided the Iranian armed forces with higher operational capabilities in the air and sea as well as on the ground.

The mass production of the Qadir missile came after Iran unveiled a new home-made long-range land-to-land cruise missile, named Soumar, on March 8.

In recent years, Iran has made several major breakthroughs in its defense sector and attained self-sufficiency in producing important military equipment and systems, including a variety of domestically-manufactured drones.

Since 1992, Iran has manufactured its own tanks, armored personnel carriers, missiles, radars, boats, submarines and fighter planes.

The country has so far unveiled various domestically produced drones, including Ababil, Fotros, Hazem, Karrar (long range attack drone), Mohajer, Sarir, Shahed 129, Yasir and Zohal.

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.

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Sara Rajabova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @SaraRajabova

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz

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