The Iranian Army’s Air Force kicked off two-day massive drills in the Central parts of the country on Monday.
A broad range of fighter jets, bombers, transport aircraft, refueling aircraft, interceptors, reconnaissance planes and drones flew during the drills, Fars News Agency (FNA) quoting Spokesman Brigadier General Farhad Goudarzi as saying.
Various types of home-made drones equipped with smart long-range bombs, ammunition with pinpointing accuracy and radar-equipped jammers would fly in the wargames zone, he added.
Sukhoi Su-24 fighter bombers and MiG-29, F-5, F-5, F-7 and F-14 fighter jets which have already been overhauled by experts at the Iranian Army Air Force are participating in the exercises, General Goudarzi noted.The drills also involve modern warfare tactics to practice countering emerging threats.
Commander of the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF) Brigadier General Aziz Nasirzadeh said: “Dozens of fighter jets, bombers, heavy and semi-heavy transport, refueling, interception and reconnaissance planes, air patrols and drones will perform the main phase and operational phase of the drills for 2 days”.
General Nasirzadeh said that different types of heavy bomber planes, Sukhoi 24, F4, F5, F7, F-7, MiG-29, F-14, Saeqeh, Boeing 707 and 747 refueling aircraft, C130 transport and logistic aircraft along with various types of drones, including Karrar, Ababil, Arash and Kaman 99 equipped with pin-pointing missiles, long-range smart bombs and radar-equipped jammers are present.
He added that carrying out surveillance, reconnaissance and imaging operations by using aerial images taken by manned and unmanned aircraft, destroying air and ground targets using pin-pointing and smart ammunition, air patrol operations using interceptor aircraft equipped with indigenous missiles to confront any enemy air aggression, air refueling and modern warfare operations to counter the enemy’s new threats are important parts of these wargames which will be conducted on a large scale.
General Nasirzadeh underlined that indigenous and upgraded systems and weapons, including heavy and semi-heavy smart bombs, various types of laser, television, thermal and radar-equipped missiles as well as different rockets and bombs produced by Iranian experts will be displayed and used during the drills.
He added that Iranian specialists have designed and produced all these weapons and military equipment in conditions that the country was under the harshest sanctions.
The Iranian Army and Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) had last month staged two-day joint aerial wargames displaying the latest equipment and capacities of the Iranian Armed Forces in a vast expanse spreading in almost half of the country’s area, Lieutenant Commander of Khatam al-Anbia Air Defense Base Brigadier General Qader Rahimzadeh announced.
Using home-made defense equipment and systems was of great importance during the military maneuver, he said, adding: “All the equipment and systems used in this wargame (including reconnaissance, missile, radar, electronic warfare, etc.) have been produced by the skilled experts and elites of Armed Forces and defense industry of the country.”
“Since long-range threats have been turned into one of the main threats to the airspace, tackling these threats has been put on top of the agenda. The domestically made Bavar-373 defense missile system hit its long-range targets in a real wargame,” the Commander added.
General Rahimzadeh also underlined the Iranian Air Defense Force’s capability to trace and destroy electro-optic-guided targets. “Today the Air Defense Force has gained the capability to confront the electro-optic-guided targets,” he said.
The Iranian Army and the IRGC’s home-made phased-array radar systems also detected and traced aggressive hostile flying objects during their joint aerial drills.
