New Generation of Air-Based Cruise Missiles Delivered to Iranian Air Force
Tue Feb 09, 2016 12:39
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TEHRAN (FNA)- The Iranian defense ministry delivered its home-made and
high-precision air-launched cruise missile, ‘Nasr', to the Air Force on
Tuesday.

"The missile is designed to attack and destroy specific targets," Defense
Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan said, addressing a ceremony to
deliver the missiles to the Air Force today.

Noting that Nasr will increase the operational and tactical capabilities of
the Air Force, he said the air-lauched missile can be mounted and fired from
fighter jets in midair.

In relevant remarks in August, the defense minister had outlined plans to
equip Iran-made drones with Nasr cruise missiles.

Dehqan made the remarks in Tehran, addressing the inauguration ceremony of
the Nasr missile production line.

"Using the air-based Nasr missile by the Army and the Islamic Revolution
Guards Corps (IRGC)'s Air Forces will remarkably increase their operational
and tactical power," he said.

Dehqan said that the Nasr missile is equipped with a high-precision radar
which enables it to trace and intercept targets, adding that after being
fired from fighter jets, Nasr doesn’t need any backup and the fighter jet
can leave the danger zone immediately.

Noting that the Nasr missile can be mounted on different types of fighter
jets, he announced Iran's future plan to equip its home-made drones with the
air-based missile.

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

The country has repeatedly made it clear that its military might is merely
based on the state's defense doctrine of deterrence and that it poses no
threat to other countries.

In March, the Iranian defense ministry started the mass-delivery of
different ballistic missiles, including Qadr, Qiam, Fateh 110 and Khalij-e
Fars missiles, as well as Mersad air defense system to the IRGC and Khatam
ol-Anbia Air Defense Base.

“The honorable specialists of the Defense Ministry’s Aerospace Organization
displayed the defense industry' power and capability in providing the Armed
Forces' needs to the most advanced missile equipment by supplying them with
Qadr, Qiam, Fateh 110 and Khalij-e Fars (Persian Gulf) ballistic missiles
and Mersad air defense system and showed that the different and
comprehensive sanctions of the enemies imposed strictly and specially on our
defense sector have totally failed to undermine their resolve and
determination,” Dehqan said at the time, addressing a ceremony held to mark
the delivery of the new missile systems to the IRGC and Khatam Ol-Anbia Air
Defense Base.

“These missiles can strike and destroy enemy targets with a high precision
capability and provide for a wide range of the Armed Forces’ needs to
missiles with different ranges,” he added.

Dehqan underlined that all these missiles have been built by Iranian
specialists, and said, “Today the Armed Forces enjoy such a high degree of
defensive capabilities that they can counter back any kind of threat posed
from beyond the borders of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

He also described enemies’ threats of military action against Iran as media
hype for internal use.

Qadr is a 2000km-range, liquid-fuel and ballistic missile which can reach
territories as far as Israel. Qiam is also a new type of surface to surface
and cruise missile.

The Fateh-110 is a short-range, road-mobile, solid-propellant,
high-precision ballistic missile with advanced navigation and control
systems.

The Fateh-110 has been designed and developed by the Iranian experts in the
Defense Ministry's Aerospace Organization and has not been modeled on any
foreign product.

The supersonic Khalij-e Fars (Persian Gulf) missile, which carries a
650-kilogram payload, is smart and immune to interception, and features
high-precision systems.

The supersonic ballistic missile is the most advanced and most important
missile of the IRGC Navy.

The distinctive feature of the missile lies in its supersonic speed and
trajectory. While other missiles mostly traverse at subsonic speeds and in
cruise style, Khalij-e Fars moves vertically after launch, traverses at
supersonic speeds, finds the target through a smart program, locks on the
target and hit it.

The range of the solid-fuel missile is 300km and it can be fired from triple
launchers.

The missile could successfully hit a mobile target one-tenth of an aircraft
carrier in its early tests.

Also, Mersad Air Defense Missile System is a completely indigenized system
developed by the Iranian experts and technicians to promote the country's
combat power.

The system has already passed field tests and is used as part of the
country's integrated air defense network.

The Mersad system equipped with Shahin missiles is capable of tracing and
targeting any enemy aircraft at 70 to 150km altitude and is considered as a
mid-altitude system among the country's missile shields.