The Iranian Defense Ministry delivered its home-made and high-precision air-launched cruise missile, ‘Nasr', to the Air Force earlier this week, Fars News Agency (FNA) reported.
“The missile is designed to attack and destroy specific targets,” Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan said.
Noting that Nasr will increase the operational and tactical capabilities of the Air Force, he said the air-launched missile can be mounted and fired from fighter jets in midair.
In relevant remarks in August, the Defense Minister outlined plans to equip Iran-made drones with Nasr cruise missiles.
Dehqan made the remarks in Tehran, addressing the inauguration ceremony of the Nasr missile production line.
“Using the air-based Nasr missile by the Army and the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC)'s Air Forces will remarkably increase their operational and tactical power,” he said.
Dehqan said the Nasr missile is equipped with a high-precision radar which enables it to trace and intercept targets, adding that after being fired from fighter jets, Nasr doesn’t need any backup and the fighter jet can leave the danger zone immediately.
Adding that Nasr missile can be mounted on different types of fighter jets, he noted Iran’s future plan to equip its home-made drones with the air-based missile.
In March 2015, the Iranian Defense Ministry started the mass-delivery of different ballistic missiles, including Qadr, Qiam, Fateh 110 and Khalij-e Fars missiles, as well as Mersad air defense system to the IRGC and Khatam ol-Anbia Air Defense Base.
Qadr is a 2000km-range, liquid-fuel and ballistic missile which can reach territories as far as Israel. Qiam is also a new type of surface to surface and cruise missile.
Fateh-110 is a short-range, road-mobile, solid-propellant, high-precision ballistic missile with advanced navigation and control systems.
The supersonic Khalij-e Fars (Persian Gulf) missile, which carries a 650-kilogram payload, is smart and immune to interception, and features high-precision systems. This is the most advanced missile of the IRGC Navy.
The distinctive feature of the missile lies in its supersonic speed and trajectory. While other missiles mostly traverse at subsonic speeds and in cruise style, Khalij-e Fars moves vertically after launch, traverses at supersonic speeds, finds the target through a smart program, locks on the target and hit it.
The range of the solid-fuel missile is 300km and it can be fired from triple launchers. The missile could successfully hit a mobile target one-tenth of an aircraft carrier in its early tests.
Moreover, Mersad Air Defense Missile System has already passed field tests and is used as part of the country's integrated air defense network.
Equipped with Shahin missiles, Mersad is capable of tracing and targeting any enemy aircraft at 70 to 150km altitude and is considered as a mid-altitude system among the country's missile shields.
