TEHRAN (FNA)- A senior Iranian military commander on Saturday announced that the country has successfully test-fired its sophisticated S-200 anti-aircraft missile system.

"The S-200 system was able to identify the target from a distance 150 km away and hit it in a distance of over 100 km," Commander of Khatam ol-Anbia Air Defense Base Brigadier General Ahmad Miqani told reporters on the sidelines of the fifth day of the Iranian Armed Forces massive air defense drills today, adding that the target was an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV).

Iran on Tuesday morning started massive air defense exercises throughout the country to boost capabilities of its Armed Forces in defending Iran's airspace. The military exercises named 'Defenders of the Sky of Vellayat III' cover the entire airspace of the country and will end today.

Miqani lauded the Iranian Armed Forces' progress in enhancing their air defense capabilities, and stated, "Over 84% of (the hypothetical enemy's) offensive UAVs have been destroyed by different air-defense systems."

Elsewhere, the commander said Iran's anti-Cruise missile systems used to be deployed in a limited number of sites in the past, but Tehran has now deployed these systems all throughout the country at present.

He also said Iranian experts have succeeded in identifying the weak points of Cruise missiles.

Iran's S-200 system is a very long range, medium-to-high altitude surface-to-air missile (SAM) system designed to defend large areas from bomber attack or other strategic aircrafts. Each battalion has 6 single-rail missile launchers and fire control radar. It can be linked to other, longer-range radar systems. Each missile is launched by 4 solid-fueled strap-on rocket boosters. Maximum range is between 200 and 350 km depending on the model. The missile uses radio illumination mid-course correction to fly towards the target with a terminal semi active radar homing phase. Tehran launched an arms development program during the 1980-88 Iraqi imposed war on Iran to compensate for a US weapons embargo. Since 1992, Iran has produced its own tanks, armored personnel carriers, missiles and fighter planes.

Yet, Iranian officials have always stressed that the country's military and arms programs serve defensive purposes and should not be perceived as a threat to any other country.