Downing Street indicates Netanyahu faces arrest if he enters UK    London's Gatwick airport reopens terminal after bomb scare evacuation    Civil Defense warns of thunderstorms across Saudi Arabia until Tuesday    Saudi Arabia, Japan strengthen cultural collaboration with new MoU    Slovak president meets Saudi delegation to bolster trade and investment ties    Saudi defense minister meets with Swedish state secretary    Navigating healthcare's future: Solutions for a sustainable system    Sixth foreign tourist dies of suspected methanol poisoning in Laos    Al Khaleej qualifies for Asian Men's Club League Handball Championship final    Katy Perry v Katie Perry: Singer wins right to use name in Australia    Trump picks Pam Bondi as attorney general after Matt Gaetz withdraws    Al-Jasser: Saudi Arabia to expand rail network to over 8,000 km    OMODA&JAECOO: Unstoppable global cumulative sales over 360,000 units    Al Hilal doesn't need extra support to bring new players, CEO says    Saudi Arabia sees 73.7% rise in investment licenses in Q3 2024    Rafael Nadal: Farewell to the 'King of Clay'    Indonesia shocks Saudi Arabia with 2-0 victory in AFC Asian Qualifiers    Sitting too much linked to heart disease –– even if you work out    GASTAT report: 45.1% of Saudis are overweight    Denmark's Victoria Kjær Theilvig wins Miss Universe 2024    Order vs. Morality: Lessons from New York's 1977 Blackout    India puts blockbuster Pakistani film on hold    The Vikings and the Islamic world    Filipino pilgrim's incredible evolution from an enemy of Islam to its staunch advocate    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Iran tests new air defense missile system
ALI AKBAR DAREINI
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 19 - 11 - 2010

TEHRAN: Iran has successfully tested a newly developed air defense missile system during the country's biggest ever air defense drill, an Iranian military official said Thursday.
Gen. Hamid Arjangi, a spokesman for the five-day exercise, said the system – known as Mersad, or Ambush in Farsi – was developed by Iranian scientists and is capable of identifying and hitting targets at low and medium altitudes. “This medium-range air defense system can identify and destroy modern planes flying at low or at medium altitudes,” Arjangi said, according to the state IRNA news agency. He described the Mersad, which allegedly is already being mass produced, as a valuable asset in defending Iran's air space from planes or drones flying at those altitudes.
Arjangi did not elaborate.
The exercise, which started Tuesday, is meant to showcase Iran's capabilities in defending its nuclear facilities from possible attack.
Iran conducts several war games every year, as part of its military self-sufficiency program that started in 1992, and frequently unveils new weapons and military systems during the drills. Its claims often cannot be independently verified. The drill followed an announcement by the Iranian Air Force saying its troops earlier this year conducted an exercise at several nuclear facilities – the uranium enrichment plant at Natanz, the under-construction enrichment site at Fordo, the nuclear uranium conversion facility near Isfahan and the Bushehr nuclear power plant.
When Iran's Defense Ministry announced Mersad's development in April, it said the system will be used to launch Shahin missiles, a local version of the 1970s-era US-manufactured Hawk missile. The Hawk has a range 15 miles with a 119-pound warhead and was sold to Iran before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Iran has been looking to upgrade its air defenses, especially as Israel has refused to rule out an airstrike over concerns by the United States and its European allies that Tehran is developing nuclear weapons.
Iran denies the charge and insists the program is only for peaceful purposes. It has also said Israel would face a “devastating retaliation” if it attacked the Islamic Republic.
The Shahin missile is likely Tehran's response to Moscow's refusal to deliver the advanced Russian S-300 air defense system amid UN and international sanctions on the country.
The S-300 missiles are capable of shooting down aircraft, cruise missiles and ballistic missile warheads at ranges of over 90 miles and at altitudes of about 90,000 feet. On Wednesday, IRNA quoted Arjangi as saying that unidentified foreign planes had violated Iran's airspace six times but that the intruders were intercepted and forced back by Iranian jets.
– Agence France


Clic here to read the story from its source.