Iran Test-Fires New Air-to-Air Missile

Iran has successfully test-fired its latest air-to-air missile "Fakour", said the country's Deputy Defence Minister Brigadier General Mehdi Farahi.

The missile was launched from an F-14 fighter jet, hitting the mock target, said Iranian officials. They claim the missile was manufactured in Iran.
The latest missile launch is one of a series of Iranian military projects. Iran has been facing economic sanctions from the US and its allies over its alleged nuclear ambitions.
"Qader (Capable) and Nasr (Victor) air-launched cruise missiles will also be tested in the coming days," said Farahi, who is also the director of Iran's Aerospace Organisation.
Meanwhile, Iranian Defence Minister Ahmad Vahidi has said the country is producing more drones capable of carrying air-to-air missiles.
"Our newest combat drone with the capability of launching air-to-air missiles is in its final stages of production and will be unveiled in future. Today, we are producing more than 20 models of drones in the country in different sectors of reconnaissance and combat, some of which have high flight endurance," said Vahidi.

Iran’s 24th fleet leaves southern port for international waters

The 24th fleet of Iran's Navy has left a port in the south of the country for international waters to provide maritime security in the region.

The 24th fleet, comprising of Sabalan destroyer and Kharg helicopter carrier, left Iran’s Bandar Abbas port on Sunday.

Kharg helicopter carrier is 207 meters long and the largest of its kind in West Asia. The carrier operates as a backup aircraft transport for the Iranian Navy’s destroyers in international waters.

The deployment is aimed at providing security for the region and ensuring the security of shipping lines.

Iran Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said on January 16 that the 24th fleet would “patrol the north of the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Aden, Bab-el-Mandeb, the Red Sea, the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean Sea for three months.”

In recent years, Iran’s Navy has been increasing its presence in international waters to protect naval routes and provide security for Iranian merchant vessels and tankers.

In addition, in line with the international efforts to combat piracy, the Iranian Navy has been conducting anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden since November 2008 to safeguard the vessels involved in maritime trade, especially the ships and oil tankers owned or leased by Iran.

Iran reaches milestone at key nuclear plant

Iran is on the cusp of being able to triple output of nuclear material that, if further treated, could be used in the core of a bomb, a new UN atomic agency report showed.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) quarterly update said that fitting out of the Fordo plant was now “complete” – despite extreme sanctions pressure.

Fordo, which Iran only told the IAEA about in 2009, began in 2011 to enrich uranium to purities of 20 percent, a process that lies at the heart of the international community’s concerns.

Enriched to this level, uranium can be used to produce medical isotopes – Iran’s stated intention – but when further enriched, a relatively easy process, it can go in a bomb.

If Iran uses the new machinery at Fordo to enrich uranium to 20-percent levels – it has not told the IAEA whether this is its aim technically – production could increase from 15 kilos per month now to around 45 kilos, a source said.

Experts say that around 250 kilos of 20-percent uranium is needed to convert into enough 90-percent material for one nuclear weapon.

However, deciding to “break out” and enrich to 90-percent would quickly be detected by the IAEA, likely sparking military action by Israel and the United States.

Making a bomb also requires a whole range of other activities such as working out how to get the fissile material to explode, and putting it in a warhead in a missile.

The IAEA’s findings “provide further troubling evidence that Iran is continuing to pursue sensitive nuclear fuel-cycle activities in violation of UN Security Council resolutions and is slowly enhancing its nuclear weapons breakout potential,” analyst Daryl Kimball of the Arms Control Association said.

Iranian air defense units equipped with new generation of radar systems

The commander of the Khatam-ol-Anbiya Air Defense Base announces that Iranian air defense units have been equipped with new domestically manufactured radar systems. 

 

In an interview with the Persian service of IRNA published on Sunday, Brigadier General Farzad Esmaeili said that the new generation of VHF and HF radar systems, which have been designed and manufactured by Iranian experts, are being used at air defense bases across the country. 

 

He also said that Samen, Shahab, and Matla-ol-fajr radar systems are “completely indigenous” systems which are able to quickly identify and track small flying targets. 

 

He added that the country’s air defense units are now able to track aircraft using various radar systems which can operate at various frequency ranges.

 

Iran tests missiles, unveils drone amid Israel tensions

Iran has tested anti-air and anti-ship missiles and unveiled a new drone, its powerful Revolutionary Guards said on Monday, in a show of military readiness for a war with Israel their chief says is inevitable.
Medium-range surface-to-air missiles designed to knock attacking aircraft out of the sky at a range of 50 kilometers (30 miles) were successfully fired on Monday, the Guards said in a statement on their official Sepahnews website.
The new, Taer-2 missiles were part of an anti-air defense system known as Ra'ad (Thunder), the statement said.
The Fars news agency called the domestically made missiles "more advanced" than the Russian-made Buk family of missiles they were based on.
Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi, the commander of the Guards' navy, also said that on Sunday a naval drill was held in which four missiles hit a warship-sized target, sinking it in 50 seconds, according to Fars.
"We have missile systems that cover all the Persian Gulf coasts and the American bases [in the region]," he was quoted as saying.
He added that the Revolutionary Guards would in the next six months hold "big naval maneuvers in the Strait of Hormuz," the strategic, narrow channel at the Gulf's entrance through which a third of the world's seaborne traded oil passes.
Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the commander of the Guards' aerospace division charged with missile defense, also announced a new drone, dubbed Shahed 129, with a range of 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles).

Iran's military unveils two new defense vehicles

Tehran - On the fourth day of the sacred defense week in Iran, two armored vehicles were introduced to Iran’s military, the aim: to increase the countries defense capabilities.

Iran’s Defense Minister, Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi, held a press conference in Tehran unveiling the new military vehicles: “Hoveyze” and “Talayiye”.

“Hoveyze” is a light and quick defense military vehicle with all its parts and equipment produced internally in the Islamic Republic of Iran. In addition this vehicle has the capability to maneuver 360 degrees and has the option of having rocket propellers attached to the body. It was also a goodop portunity for us to ask Brig. General Vahidi a question about the current situation in the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz.

Iran close to nuclear weapons mid-2013

Iran is on the point of being able to build a nuclear weapon within six or seven months and U.S. President Barack Obama has clearly set in Tehran a "red line" not to cross said Benjamin now Netanyahu.

Speaking on U.S. television, the Israeli prime minister said that Iran completed by mid-2013 90% of the way allowing him to have enough enriched uranium to make a nuclear bomb.

He urged the United States to impose a limit on the Islamic Republic not to cross or risk military intervention that Barack Obama refuses to do. "We must draw the red line in front of them now, before it is too late," Netanyahu said during the show "Meet the Press" on NBC. Such an initiative would probably just do not have recourse to force, he added.

IRGC Increases Targeting Precision of Zelzal Rockets

Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Commander Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari announced on Sunday that Iran has increased the targeting precision of its Zelzal rockets.

Speaking to reporters in a press conference here in Tehran on Sunday, Major General Jafari elaborated on the latest achievements of the IRGC in missile technology, and said that his forces have narrowed the margin of error of the Zelzal rockets.

"These rockets which have been produced around 15 to 20 years ago can fly a range of approximately 300km. These rockets did not enjoy proper precision in targeting, but after a recent project, their precision has been increased and their margin of error has been lowered to less than 50 meters," the IRGC commander explained.

The Iranian defense ministry has made great achievements in designing and producing missiles, including the surface-to-surface solid-fuel Sejjil missiles, the long-range Shahab-3 ballistic missile which has a range of up to 2,000 km, and ground-to-ground Zelzal and Fateh missiles.

IRGC Announces Production of Drone with Missile Capability

Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari announced that his forces have built a new type of military drone with missile capability.

Speaking at a press conference here in Tehran on Sunday, Jafari pointed to Iran's latest achievements in area of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) production, and stated, "Shahed 129 drone presents the IRGC's latest advancement in this field. With its 24-hour-long non-stop flight capability, the drone can accomplish good missions in reconnaissance and combat fields."

The commander added that Shahed 129 can hit and destroy targets from a far distance with its Sadid (Iron-Strong) missiles.

Earlier this month, a senior Iranian defense official announced that Iran plans to equip its military drones with missile capabilities.

"We observed the operation of Iran's combat Unmanned Arial Vehicles (UAVs) in the recent wargames conducted by the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) and we plan to mount missile systems onto these drones," Deputy Defense Minister for Industrial and Research Mohammad Eslami told FNA at the time.

Early in July, the IRGC Aerospace Force conducted three days of massive missile drills, codenamed Payambar-e Azam 7 (The Great Prophet 7).

In March 2012, Iranian experts managed to produce a new type of drone which is capable of carrying out military and border patrol missions.

The new remote-controlled aircraft, called Shaparak (Butterfly), has a maximum operational radius of 50 kilometers (31 miles), and a maximum flight ceiling of 15,000 feet (4,572 meters), Reza Danandeh Hakamabad, the aeronautics engineer in charge of the project, said at the time.

The aircraft is capable of three and half hours of non-stop flying, and can carry an 8-kilogram (17-pound) payload.

Iran successfully tested a home-made radar-evading UAV with bombing capabilities in June 2009.

In February 2011, Iran inaugurated the production line of two home-made UAVs with bombing and reconnaissance capabilities.