Iranian Army Ground Force Commander Brigadier General Kioumars Heidari confirmed the handover of the first sophisticated and Smart Air Defense System to his forces.
Heidari made the remarks in an exclusive interview with Fars News Agency (FNA) earlier this week, stressing that it is absolutely essential that the ground force units acquire state-of-the-art armaments in order to enhance their efficiency and be capable of responding to present-day operational needs.
The modern system was developed and manufactured by the country’s military experts and technicians.
He went on to highlight that the Iranian Army’s Ground Force has already submitted three grandiose plans, dubbed Labbaik (Allegiance) 1, 2 and 3, to the Commander-in-Chief of the Iranian Armed Forces Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei.
The first plan, called Labbaik 1, is aimed at redesigning the structure and mobilization of the armed forces, and enabling them to impose their military might on the enemy in close-range ground battles.
The Iranian Commander highlighted that formation of mobile offensive and quick reaction units was among the objectives defined for Labbaik 1 plan, stating that efforts are still underway to formulate the cyber, missile and drone aspects of the plan in proportion to modern operational needs.
Heidari underscored that Labbaik 2 plan particularly focuses on arming the Iranian Army’s Ground Force with munitions which meet the four features of being long-range, precision-strike and smart, and enjoy the ease of network connectivity.
He noted that the homegrown weapons being developed under the plan should be able to strike the minimum operational depths of enemy’s forces, which Iran has set at 300 kilometers, enjoy precision-strike capabilities since future wars would take in effectiveness rather than destruction, be smart so that they would devastate a strategic target once fired, and effortlessly connect to the intended network.
The Commander of the Iranian Army’s Ground Force added that the Iranian Army’s Ground Force has received the first smart air defense system, which possesses advanced technological capabilities.
“Our drone unit has been established with several very extensive regional bases,” he continued, stating that all of Iranian-developed unmanned aerial vehicles are sophisticated, smart and precision-guided.
He underlined that the work on optimization of the 155mm artillery units has been completed, and efforts are underway to upgrade other units.
Heidari said Labbaik 3 plan focuses on engineering matters, namely construction of barracks, medical facilities and institutional buildings.
For his part, Commander of the Iranian Army’s Navy Rear Admiral Shahram on Tuesday declared the formation of a fleet with modern military equipment including attack copters and long-range drones, and added that the Iranian Army Navy is capable of covering a radius of at least 2,000 kilometers.
Rear Admiral Irani stated that “Iran has formed a drone carrier flotilla which has the ability to fly hundreds of drones at the same time”.
“We will receive naval attack helicopters, which will be of great help in maritime operations, especially in escorting vessels,” he said, noting that “in the field of drones, we will add up-to-date drones with a range of more than 2,000 kilometers to the Iranian Army’s Navy.”
In mid-July, the Iranian Navy upgraded its force by unveiling a drone-carrier division comprised of different surface and subsurface units. The division is capable of carrying various combat, surveillance, and suicide drones and has joined the country’s Southern fleet.
Other than drones that use vertical takeoff systems that were launched from surface vessels, combat drones have been launched from submarines including homegrown Fateh and Tareq submarines. This makes Iran the only country in the region with the ability to launch UAVs from subsurface units.
