Tehran (Iran News) – Iran is a major military power in the Middle East. It has an estimated 534,000 active personnel in the army, navy, air force and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Global Firepower Index says that Iran military power ranks No. 13 in the world out of 136 countries. The base of […]
Tehran (Iran News) – Iran is a major military power in the Middle East. It has an estimated 534,000 active personnel in the army, navy, air force and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Global Firepower Index says that Iran military power ranks No. 13 in the world out of 136 countries. The base of the listing consists of more than 50 factors. The factors includes war-making potential in conventional (non-nuclear) forces, manpower, geography and finance. To compare to other regional powers, Turkey ranks ninth, Egypt 12th, Zionists 16th and Saudi Arabia 26th.
Report goes on:
Sanctions slowed the progress but the nation of Iran continues its military power growth by way of indigenous ventures and defense deals with Russia.
Iran’s influence in the Middle East has grown through conflicts in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and Yemen, during the tensions of its longstanding rival Saudi Arabia.
Here are some points on Iran, one of the Persian Gulf’s major powers:
1) Iran’s military consists of two parallel organisations; the regular armed forces and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).
2) Iran’s active service personnel number 523,000 with 350,000 in reserve.
3) The Iranian defence budget for 2018 was just over £15.5bn. A fall of more than £1.1bn on the previous year.
4) Iran spends around 4.5% of GDP on its defense.
5) Iran’s armed forces struggle with ageing hardware but ingenuity and upgrades have helped the air force maintain a fleet including US-made F-14 Tomcats and F-4 Phantom jets and last year Iran unveiled what it said was a fourth generation fighter.
6) Iran has developed ballistic missiles with a range of up to 2,000 kilometres (1,242 miles), such as the Sejjil series, but argues they are defensive and not designed to carry nuclear warheads.
7) Iran’s navy has been showcasing its Ghadir-class mini-submarines which can launch cruise missiles. The boats are believed to carry a crew of nine and weighs less than 150 metric tons.
8) In 2011 Iran took control and captured an unmanned US Lockheed Martin RQ-170 Sentinel while in flight and used the technology to create its own drone.
- source : Reuters, Irannews
