Tuesday, Iran unveiled a new missile and two new radar systems it boasts will improve the country’s defensive capabilities.
Speaking on state television, Air Defense Chief Gen. Farzad Esmaili claimed the new Talash-3 missile is capable of “shoot[ing] down any target,” even at high altitudes. He said the missile was successfully test fired recently.
In addition, Esmaili revealed Iran had developed two new radar systems, the Arash-2, which can miniature drones at a distance of 150 kilometers (93 miles), and the Kayhan, apparently able to detect cruise missiles and drones.
Last week, the Islamic Republic reportedly shot down what it said was an Israeli spy drone over its Natanz uranium enrichment site. Iranian media broadcasted footage of the downed drone and stated that it was brought down using a surface-to-air missile.
A second system allows Iran to process information from commercial airliners crossing through its airspace. The number of civilian flights traversing Iranian skies has doubled to roughly 900 planes in 24 hours in recent months, likely due to unrest in the region, as airlines reroute to avoid trouble. In July, a Malaysian Airlines jet was shot down over Ukraine.
Iran frequently announces military advances which cannot be independently verified. It has a home-grown defense industry, launched in 1992, which produces everything from mortars to tanks and submarines. Iran does have surface-to-surface missiles with a range of about 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles), long enough to reach Israel or US military bases in the area.
On Sunday, the Israeli Air Force downed a drone that was attempting to infiltrate Israeli airspace from Syria. IDF officials confirmed that the drone was an Iranian “Yasir” model, Channel 2 reported.
First used by Iran in September 2013, the Yasir has a range of 200 kilometers (125 miles) and can fly at an altitude of 1.5 km (1 miles) for up to 8 hours without refueling.
