Iran to test-fire missiles on drones: Cmdr.

A senior Iranian commander says the Army’s Ground Forces will test-fire air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles mounted on drones during an upcoming specialized military exercise.

Commander of the Iranian Army’s Ground Forces Brigadier General Ahmadreza Pourdastan made the remarks on Friday on the sidelines of a major missile drill code-named Beit ul-Muqaddas 26 in the central province of Isfahan.

Pourdastan said the Ground Forces will hold three more specialized maneuvers, including a drone drill, by the end of the current Iranian calendar year, which ends in March 2015.

The Iranian commander said reconnaissance and online imaging drones will be used in the drill, adding that air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles mounted on the aircraft will be also tested.

The Ground Forces will hold a special electronic warfare drill and another maneuver for the 65th Airborne Special Forces Brigade, Pourdastan stated.

Two joint drills with other units from the Iranian Army as well as the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) are also on the agenda of the Ground Forces to be held by the end of the year.

The Iranian commander described as successful the first phase of the Beit ul-Muqaddas 26 drills, which were held on Friday, noting that Iranian missiles have been upgraded in terms of “range, precision and destruction power.”

The Beit ul-Muqaddas 26 military drills in the central province of Isfahan started with the test-firing of indigenous Nazeat and Fajr (Dawn) 5 missiles. The drills will end on Saturday.