Iran launches production line of new air defense system

Iran’s latest indigenous air defense battery, Ninth Herz, has hit the production line in a ceremony with Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi in attendance.

The production line was inaugurated on Monday on the occasion of the upcoming birth anniversary of Imam Muhammad al-Taqi (AS), the ninth Shia Imam, and in the run-up to the 31st anniversary of the liberation of the city of Khorramshahr in Iran’s southwestern Khuzestan Province.

Iranian troops launched Operation Beit ol-Moqaddas in April 1982 and liberated Khorramshahr from Iraqi occupation on May 24 of the same year.

Vahidi said during the ceremony that the aerial defense system is able to detect and track targets at low altitude and automatically hit them. He said the battery enjoys high mobility and can be operated at nights.

“The system can be connected to the country’s defense network and can be deployed and activated in less than a few minutes to counter threats,” the Iranian defense minister added.

The Herz air defense system has been designed and produced by Iranian experts.

In April, Iran unveiled a number of indigenous military equipment including a stealth unmanned aerial vehicle, two missile systems and a mobile electronic interception system, to mark national Army Day.

Over the past years, Iran has made important breakthroughs in its defense sector and attained self-sufficiency in producing important military equipment and systems.

The Islamic Republic has repeatedly assured other nations, especially its neighbors, that its military might poses no threat to other countries, insisting that its defense doctrine is based on deterrence.