Defense News - Iran

TEHRAN (FNA) - A senior Iranian commander announced that the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) Aerospace unit plans to start massive missile wargames on Monday. IRGC Aerospace Force Commander Brigadier General Amir-Ali Hajizadeh said that the exercises, codenamed Great Prophet-6, are to start on Monday.

Short-, medium- and long-range missiles will be fired, specially the Khalij-Fars, Sejil, Fateh, Ghiam, and Shahab-1 and -2 missiles," he said.

The General, whose force carries out wargames each year in the Persian Gulf region, said the latest exercises were "a message of peace and friendship to the countries of the region".

Hajizadeh did not mention how long the maneuvers will last.

Iran has made giant progress in missile-production technology during the last decade.

Late in May, the Iranian Defense Ministry supplied large numbers of 'Qiyam (Rise) 1' high-precision ballistic missiles to the IRGC Aerospace Force.

At the ceremony, Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi said that mass-production of Qiyam 1 missiles indicated Tehran's self-sufficiency in producing different types of missiles.

Referring to the detailed features and specifications of the newly mass-produced ballistic missile, Vahidi said that Qiyam 1 is the country's first finless missile.

The minister added that the very special design of the missile makes its detection by radars and air defense systems difficult.

He said that omission of the fins from the design has increased the velocity of the missile and shortened the launch time.

In February, Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari announced that the IRGC has started mass-production of a recently-developed smart anti-ship ballistic missile.

"The IRGC's smart ballistic missiles are now in mass-production and this type of missiles can hit and destroy targets with high-precision," Jafari told reporters in a news conference here in Tehran in February.

"These new missiles enjoys supersonic speed and cannot be tracked or intercepted by enemy," the commander said, adding that missiles can hit targets 300km away with high-precision.

The Iranian Defense Ministry in October delivered the third generation of home-made Fateh-110 high-precision ballistic missiles to the IRGC Aerospace Force.