Sputnik News:
Iran plans to replace its existing missile arsenal with a new generation of missiles next year, the country’s top military commander announced earlier this week.
Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh announced plans to replace the Fateh, Qiyam and Qadr missile series with a new generation of missiles next year, FNA news agency reported from Tehran.
“We will abolish the Fateh 110 missiles (a short-range, road-mobile, solid-propellant, high-precision ballistic missile with advanced navigation and control systems) as well as the mid-range (high-precision ballistic) Qiyam and Qadr (first generation of air-launched precision-guided) missiles to replace them with new missiles,” Hajizadeh said on Friday.
He was referring to the unveiling last Sunday of the long-range ground-to-ground Soumar cruise missile system, noting that the weapon system was built under harsh sanctions.
He also announced was the mass delivery of Qadr and Qiyam long-range ballistic missiles to the IRGC’s Aerospace Force, and said these missiles are capable of destroying different types of targets under any type of conditions due to their tactical capability, sustainability in the battleground and radar-evading features, the agency reported.
Upgraded versions of these long-range high-precision missiles will be delivered to the Iranian military next year.
The Iranian military recently test-fired different types of newly-developed missiles and torpedoes and tested a large number of home-made weapons, tools and equipment, including submarines, military ships, artillery, heliciopters, aircraft, UAVs and air defense and electronic systems, during massive military drills.
Iran also successfully tested the second generation of Sejjil missiles and brought it into mass production in 2013.
Also, Iran’s 2000km-range, liquid-fuel, Qadr F ballistic missile can reach territories as far as Israel.
Iran’s surface-to-surface Sejjil missile, the long-range Shahab-3 ballistic missile which has a range of up to 2,000 km, and Zelzal and Fateh missiles have all been developed by the Aerospace Organization of the Defense Industries.
The solid-fuel, two-stage Sejjil missile with two engines, is capable of reaching a very high altitude and has a longer range as compared to the Shahab 3 model.
