The Iranian naval forces were equipped with new and overhauled helicopters, aircraft and vessels in a ceremony held on Sunday.
Two SH3D-316 helicopters and two F27 Friendship and Hovercraft aircraft joined the Iranian Navy in Bandar Abbas port city in Southern Iran. Deputy of Commander of the Iranian Army for Coordination Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari and Army’s Navy Commander Rear Admiral Shahram Iran attended the ceremony.
The renovated and overhauled ‘Alvand’ destroyer joined the Navy fleet after the installation of surface and subsurface defense equipment. Four submarines also joined the Army Navy submarine fleet, Fars News Agency (FNA) reported.
During the ceremony, Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said that the readiness of the Armed forces and the increase in military equipment strengthens Iran’s deterrent and defense capabilities.
“We used to sail only in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman. But relying on science, knowledge and cohesion, we were able to have a strong presence in distant waters, and today, we see the presence of the Navy in the Red Sea and the Americas,” he underlined.
Meanwhile, Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Brigadier General Abbas Nilforoushan announced Monday the start of massive wargames dubbed as Payambar-e Azam 17 in the Southern parts of Iran.
General Nilforoushan, also the spokesman of the exercises, said that the drills will be held for five days on the shores of the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz and the general area of Hormozgan, Bushehr and Khuzestan provinces with participation of the IRGC ground, naval and air force units, as well as some units of the Basij (volunteer) forces.
“The drills have already begun in order to increase the level of combat readiness of the IRGC by using the most advanced equipment and tactics to deal with perceived threats and hybrid wars,” he added.
General Nilforoushan referred to the diversity and multiplicity of participating forces and units, saying that exercising how to confront against different spectrums of threat will be operational for the first time in these wargames.
The drills are being held over one month after the Iranian Army ended joint military wargames, dubbed Zolfaqar 1400, in Makran region in the Southern parts of the country after achieving all planned objectives.
Spokesman of the exercises Rear Admiral Seyed Mahmoud Mousavi said that the drills were wrapped up after implementation of various military plans in an area covering more than one million square meters.
He added that all plans and goals have been materialized, noting that showing the capacities and capabilities of the Islamic Republic of Iran as an effective component in ensuring the security of the region were among the achievements of the ‘Zolfaqar 1400’ military drills.
The Iranian Army started the first day of the main phase of the Zolfaqar 1400 joint drills on Sunday with the Air Force's F-4 bombers destroying ground targets with optimized missiles.
The Iranian Army Air Force's F-4 bombers carried out long-range flights from their bases to the general zone of the exercises and conducted air refueling operations from the tanker aircraft, destroying ground targets of the hypothetical enemy with optimized missiles, including a new generation of optimized air-to-surface missiles in the general zone of the wargames.
The main phase of the joint drills began with participation of the infantry, armored and mechanized units of the Army Ground Forces, Air Defense Forces’ defense systems, and naval surface vessels with the support of Army Air Force’s fighters and drones in the general zone of Makran Coast.
The home-made cruise missiles of the Iranian Army destroyed several surface targets and vessels during the second day of Zolfaqar 1400 drills.
