Iran Starts Mass Production of Home-Made Qadir Cruise Missiles

(FNA)- Iran on Saturday started mass production of its long-range 'Qadir' cruise missiles in a ceremony participated by Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan and other high-ranking Iranian commanders.

Addressing the ceremony, Dehqan said Qadir missiles can be rapidly deployed to show reaction in a short time, while they enjoy other capabilities such as low flying altitude, high navigation precision, high targeting precision, high destruction power, highly advanced anti-electronic warfare and anti-jamming systems, advanced radar systems and the capability of being fired from different types of vessels and helicopters.

Stressing that the Iranian defense ministry stands atop the region in manufacturing different types of home-made missiles, he said, "The high precision, rapid reaction and high quality of these important products have incredibly increased the Armed Forces' combat power in the sky, sea and ground."

Dehqan appreciated the Iranian scientists and elites for designing, building and mass-producing Qadir missiles which can hit targets 300km in distance, and said, "God willing, the Defense Ministry's new missiles with much more advanced capabilities will be delivered to the Armed Forces next year."

The Iranian Armed Forces recently test-fired different types of newly-developed missiles and torpedoes and tested a large number of home-made weapons, tools and equipment, including submarines, military ships, artillery, choppers, aircrafts, UAVs and air defense and electronic systems, during massive military drills.

Defense analysts and military observers say that Iran's wargames and its advancements in weapons production have proved as a deterrent factor.

Iran successfully tested second generation of Sejjil missiles and brought it into mass production in 2013.

Sejjil missiles are considered as the third generation of Iran-made long-range missiles.

Also, Iran's 2000km-range, liquid-fuel, Qadr F ballistic missile can reach territories as far as Israel.

Iran's surface-to-surface Sejjil missile, the long-range Shahab-3 ballistic missile which has a range of up to 2,000 km, and Zelzal and Fateh missiles have all been developed by the Aerospace Organization of the Defense Industries.

This is while the solid-fuel, two-stage Sejjil missile with two engines, is capable of reaching a very high altitude and therefore has a longer range than that of the Shahab 3 model.

Also earlier this month, Iran unveiled a new long-range ground-to-ground cruise missile system, named 'Soumar', in a ceremony attended by senior military officials and commanders.

"Soumar long-range ground-to-ground cruise missile system has been designed and built by experts of the defense ministry's aerospace industries organization," General Dehqan told reporters after the unveiling ceremony.

"The designing and building of this weapon whose navigation and propulsion systems and its structure enjoy complicated and new technologies is seen as a wide stride taken to enhance the Islamic Republic of Iran's defensive and deterrence power," he added.

Dehqan also announced the mass delivery of Qadr and Qiyam long-range ballistic missiles to the IRGC's Aerospace Force, and said these missiles are capable of destroying different types of targets under any type of conditions due to their tactical capability, sustainability in the battleground and radar-evading features.

He also announced that the defense ministry would deliver upgraded versions of these long-range and high-precision missiles to the Iranian military forces next year.

Also during the ceremony, IRGC Aerospace Force Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh hailed Iran's advancements in missile technology under the harshest sanctions imposed on the country, and underlined that Iran would never allow its defense program and cruise missiles become a topic in its negotiations with the world powers.