Iran artilleries get anti-aircraft systems

A senior Iranian commander says the country’s armed forces are boosting their surface-to-air firepower with the introduction of new anti-aircraft missile systems.

Iran’s “artillery units will soon receive new anti-aircraft missiles and radar systems” to enhance the country’s defense capabilities, Fars news agency reported the commander of the anti-aircraft post of the Khatamolanbia Headquarters, Brigadier General Ahmad Miqani, as saying on Sunday.

The military chief said that the Khatamolanbia anti-aircraft post is “rapidly upgrading its defense systems in every way.”

He also noted that the country’s artilleries have already deployed another anti-aircraft missile, named Mersad (Ambush), as operational.

Mersad medium-range missile system is the first domestically-built air defense system, which is said to be more powerful than the US-made Hawk missile.

It features cutting-edge technology that makes it able to destroy modern aircrafts at low and medium altitudes, Iran military officials say.

Mersad is also equipped with sophisticated radar signal processing technology, an advanced launcher, and contains exclusive electronic equipment for guidance and target acquisition.

It could be linked to other anti-aircraft batteries, providing the ability to combat electronic warfare.

Iran began mass-production of the missile earlier this year in order to deliver a sizeable number to the country’s armed forces by year’s end.