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, Fars News Agency (FNA) reported.

“Using the updated surface-to-air anti-ship missiles at this stage of the exercises, as well as the conduct of operations by young Army Air Force pilots, were among the strong points of this phase of the exercises,” Spokesman of the drills Rear Admiral Seyed Mahmoud Mousavi said on Sunday.

“In another part of the exercise, F-4 fighter jets also successfully fired at mobile naval targets with the aim of supporting the Navy’s surface units,” he added.

Rear Admiral Mousavi said that low-altitude reconnaissance flight of Mirage fighters was another operation carried out in this phase of the exercises, adding that the F-4 fighters of the Army’s Air Force fired 250-pound bombs in support of the Ground Forces in areas captured by hypothetical enemies.

Meanwhile, the marines and commandos of the Iranian Army’s Navy and Ground Forces in a joint operation carried out airborne, heliborne and amphibious operations on coastlines of hypothetical enemy and recaptured those areas.

At this stage of the exercises, the marine and commando brigades accompanied by units from the Army Ground Forces, carried out surprise attacks on the surface units of the hypothetical enemy on the Southern coasts of the country.

Dubbed as ‘Zolfaqar 1400’, the joint military exercises of Iran’s Army kicked off under the command of the Army’s Zolfaqar base, with observers from the Khatam al-Anbiya Air Defense Base in attendance.

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.

Monitoring of the country’s airspace and the general training zone in the Southern part of the country by the Air Defense Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran, as well as combating hostile targets are among the goals of the wargames, Rear Admiral Mousavi noted.

Army’s pilots and drones will also carry out air patrol during the wargames, he added.

Iranian Army’s Deputy Commander for Coordination Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari earlier announced that the main phase of the Army’s Zolfaqar 1400 drills would start on Sunday with the participation of four units.

“The main and operational phase of the Zolfaqar 1400 joint exercises of the Army of the Islamic Republic of Iran will start on Sunday with the participation of the Army’s Ground, Air, Air Defense and Naval forces in an area of one million square kilometers East of the Strait of Hormuz, the Sea of ​​Oman and the North Indian Ocean (up to 10 degrees orbit),” Rear Admiral Sayyari, also the Commander of the drills, said on Saturday.

He added that the Army’s infantry, armored and mechanized units, Air Defense, air force defense systems, Navy’s surface vessels and submarines, Army’s Air Force’s fighters and drones have been deployed in the general zone of the drills since days ago and have staged different exercises and the units will carry out the main phases of the joint Zolfaqar 1400 wargames on Sunday.

Rear Admiral Sayyari noted during the exercises, the Army’s drones, with the capability of electronic warfare and ability to carry a variety of combat and optical equipment cargos will simultaneously perform various planned joint exercises.