The Iranian Air Force Deputy Chief Liaison Officer, General Aziz Nasirzadeh, announced that the country is developing its smart bombs production program and plans to mount air-based cruise missiles on all its fighter jets.

“The Air Force has been using Qassed (Messenger) smart bomb for a long time and its new versions are being developed now to increase its precision capability,” Nasirzadeh told Fars News Agency (FNA) earlier this week.

“We have been working on developing smart bombs and smart electro-optically-guided missiles, including laser and GPS-guidance and other smart navigation systems, for years part of which have been tested in the wargames and proved successful,” he added.

Nasirzadeh explained that all projects in the Air Force have been planned to increase the range and smartness of the weapons and equipment and their electro-optical guiding capability, and added, “The air-based Qader and Nasr cruise missiles are being mounted on different Air Force fighter jets.”

The Iranian Army's Air Force successfully test-fired its Qassed smart bombs during the air drills in Northwestern Iran in 2011.

The 2000-pound smart bombs are able to fly a 40km distance and hit the target without pilot's control.

The bombs, equipped with a smart guiding system, are produced by few countries due to the advanced technical know-how required for its production and Iran is the last in a chain of countries which have succeeded in developing the technology.

In recent years, Iran has made great achievements in the defense sector and gained self-sufficiency in essential military hardware and defense systems.

The country has repeatedly made it clear that its military might is merely based on the state's defense doctrine of deterrence and that it poses no threat to other countries.

 

Source: FNA