Iran Navy successfully tests L-band radar at drills

Iran’s Navy says it has successfully tested a new radar system during large-scale military drills south of the country.

A spokesman for Iran’s Navy said on Thursday that the L-band radar system, capable of detecting both aerial and surface threats at the same time, was successfully tested in waters near Konarak Port, southeast Iran.

“This radar was installed on one of the coastal stations during the drill and proved its capabilities,” Admiral Seyyed Mahmoud Mousavi said, adding that the sophisticated system is a product of Iran’s defense industry.

He said the system is suitable for electronic warfare and that the Iranian Navy will be able to create a “network of radar senors” courtesy of the L-band radar technology.

Mousavi said the range of the radar system is about 150 kilometers, which is planned to be raised to 400 kilometers.

Iran’s Navy started its annual military exercises, this year dubbed “Velayat 94”, on Wednesday. The four-day maneuvers are under way across a large swath of territorial waters and high seas in the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz, and the Indian Ocean.

Iran’s Navy chief Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said at the onset of the military exercise that its main mission would be to show to “the people of the entire world the Islamic Republic of Iran’s competence and authority in establishing security and defending the country’s maritime borders across seas, especially in the Strait of Hormuz, the Sea of Oman, and northern Indian Ocean.”

In the first days of the drills, which covered its tactical stage, the Iranian naval forces simulated the interception of invaders.

A US warship was also warned off the drill area.