Iran wraps up 2-day military drill

Iran's air force wrapped up its two- day military drill over the Persian Gulf off southern Iran on Saturday. Hailing the drill as "successful," its spokesman Brigadier General Hossein Chitforoush said: "The results of the wargames were beyond our expectations," semi-official Fars news agency reported. The first part of the drill involved reconnaissance missions and gathering information about combat operations, while the second part, the main phase of the drill, included combat operations, according to Tasnim news agency. "Different kinds of light and heavy, smart, guided bombs and rockets, optimized communication and telecommunication systems, indigenized combat equipment produced by the self-sufficiency units of the armed forces and new air combat tactics were put to test during the massive wargames," Chitforoush was quoted as saying by Fars. Despite the changing weather condition during the final stages of the wargames on Saturday, "all flights by the jet fighters, jet bombers, heavy and semi-heavy cargo planes, tactical sea patrol and reconnaissance missions were conducted on schedule," Chitforoush said, adding that "all the missions for targeting and destroying moving objects in the air and the ground targets on islands in the southern parts of the Persian Gulf and the general combat zone were accomplished successfully." The fighter jets of the Iranian air force fulfilled air tracking missions and practiced air-to-surface shootings against specified targets and positions till late Friday night, and they hit their targets in long-range distances on Saturday morning, Chitforoush was quoted as saying. The strategic Sukhoi-24 (SU-24) fighter-bombers, carrying optimized high-precision missiles built by Iranian experts, as well as the F-5, Mirage and Saeqeh (Thunderbolt) fighter jets participated in the operation, he added. On Saturday, Iran's fighter jets "successfully" test-fired 200- km range Qader missiles during the ongoing drill in the Persian Gulf region, according to Fars. "These missiles, which can be mounted on different fighter jets, were successfully test-fired in these wargames," Chitforoush told Fars. Qader air-based missile with a range of over 200 km can be used by the Iranian air force in future battles, Chitforoush was quoted as saying. An important feature of the ongoing drill is the deployment and test-firing of Qader and Nasr air-based missiles that have recently been supplied to the air force, said the military official. Nasr missiles, which can destroy vessels of up to 3,000 tons, can be launched from inland bases, offshore military vessels as well as helicopters. The two-day exercise, code-named Fadaian-e Harim-e Velayat 4 ( Defenders of Velayat Sanctuary 4), was part of Iran's annual exercises aimed at testing home-made air defense systems, improving the units' combat readiness and displaying the country's military might and achievements, Deputy Commander of Iran's air force Brigadier General Alireza Barkhor said. The air-to-air combat and targeting flying objects formed the " technical core" of the drill, in which different types of fighters, transport aircraft and reconnaissance planes partook, he said.