Iran to build national air defense system

Iran plans to build a domestically developed and produced national air defense missile system, says the country’s Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi.

“Building this missile [system] is time-consuming but solid steps have been taken in terms of manufacturing it,” IRNA quoted Vahidi as saying on Sunday.

Earlier, the Iranian defense minister announced that Iran is mass-producing laser-guided anti-chopper missiles, adding that these missiles are capable of “tracking and destroying targets with high-precision.”

In recent years, Iran has made great achievements in the defense sector and attained self-sufficiency in essential military hardware and weapon systems.

On April 16, Iran announced that it has successfully test-fired an air-defense missile system dubbed Sayyad (Hunter)-2.

The newly-tested system is an upgraded version of the Sayyad-1 system with a higher precision, range and defensive power.

In January, Iran successfully test-fired the mid-range, surface-to-air Hawk missile and the Iranian Defense Ministry delivered new cruise missile systems to the Navy.

The systems, designed and manufactured by Iranian experts, are capable of spotting and destroying various targets at sea.

The Navy has successfully test-fired a range of powerful missiles mounted with laser technology, with high precision and a range of 45 kilometers (28 miles) to 300 kilometers (186 miles).

Iran has repeatedly stated that its military might poses no threat to other countries, reiterating that its defense doctrine is merely based on deterrence.