IRGC Displays New Naval Ballistic Missile
IRAN NEWS NATIONAL DESK
TEHRAN – The Commander of IRGC Aerospace Force noted that the country’s defense sector enjoys high-tech equipment made by Iranian experts.
Iran’s aerospace section and its achievements are standing at the world’s top-level, Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh said on Sunday in the inauguration ceremony of an exhibition which showcases the achievements of the force.
“When we talk about missile, drone, and radar development, these are cutting edge technologies and we are among the top five countries in these fields,” he added.
He noted that the defense achievements of the country have been the result of experiences during Sacred Defense. “We learned from Imam Khomeini to stand on our own feet. Of course, we faced challenges in the path. At the time of the Soviet Union collapse, millions of dollars’ worth missiles and launchers were being easily offered to us but the Leader of the Islamic Revolution opposed. If those purchases had been made, we would have not gained these achievements and this progress is the result of the wisdom of the Leader.”
He noted that the exhibition aims to inject self-confidence in the younger generation while also transferring the key of these technologies to others.
The Brigadier General also said that country’s problems can be solved with self-confidence.
The exhibition has been opened on the occasion of the Sacred Defense Week which marks the start of imposed Saddam Hussein’s war on Iran in 1980.
He also hailed the Zolfaqar-e Basir missile, with a range of more than 700 kilometers (434 miles) as its new-generation ballistic missile — after predecessors Khalij-e Fars and Hormuz– to be used against mobile seaborne targets.
The newest projectile is fitted with a warhead that is guided by an optical seeker head. The precursors to the naval military achievement could respectively fly as far as 300 and 250 kilometers (186 and 155 miles).
Zolfaqar-e Basir’s surface-to-surface version can also travel a 700-to-750-kilometer distance.
The Corps has previously deployed the missile against overseas targets such as gatherings of the terror group Daesh as well as the U.S.’s Ain al-Assad Airbase located in western Iraq. The latter operation was conducted in January after a U.S. drone strike assassinated Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani, former commander of the IRGC’s Quds Force, in Baghdad.
“We have [well] understood the equations governing independence and esteem, and will never stop manufacturing power,” General Salami said during the inauguration ceremony, which was also attended by the Aerospace Division’s Commander Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh and Majlis (Parliament) Speaker Mohammad-Baqer Qalibaf.
The exhibition also demonstrated the IRGC’s other capabilities in the areas of missiles, UAVs, satellites, defense systems, reconnaissance apparatuses, and electronic warfare, as well as some of the invading drones that have been successfully shot down by the Corps in the past, including American and Israeli ones.
