Iran's armed forces held a large-scale air defense exercise, including the use of UAVs to intercept aerial targets.
Iran’s Velayat 1402 Sky Guardian drills began on January 18 in an area stretching some 400 kilometers from the southern coast to deep inland areas of the country. The drills involve air defense forces from the army, air force, navy, and the aerospace arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
"The exercise was held in a completely realistic environment. In the first phase, the air defense systems performed tasks according to the rapid reaction procedure of the combat force according to the principles of passive defense," said Brigadier General Abbas Farajpour.
Aircraft and UAVs from the Iranian military and IRGC will conduct reconnaissance and intelligence-gathering flights in the initial phase. On the first day of the drills, Iranian units "successfully deployed a new air defense method using UAVs to intercept and target hostile targets," the country's media reported.
Karrar UAV leaves the launch pad during an exercise by the Iranian armed forces on January 18. Photo: IRGC
According to General Farajpour, the Iranian-made Karrar UAV launched the domestically-made Majid air-to-air missile with a range of 8 km at the simulated targets, "destroying some and forcing the rest to leave the exercise area". Mr. Farajpour declared that Iran has successfully developed a new concept of air defense using UAVs in addition to traditional measures.
Iran held air defense drills after launching air strikes against targets in neighboring Pakistan, Iraq and Syria.
Two days after Iran attacked an Israel-linked militant group in Pakistan, the South Asian country's military launched a raid against Baloch militants in the neighboring Sistan-Baluchestan province.
This series of attacks has raised concerns about the growing instability in the Middle East since the Israel-Hamas war broke out in early October 2023, threatening to spark a full-scale conflict in the region and causing serious humanitarian, economic, and political consequences as well as affecting the entire world.
Nguyen Tien (According to Reuters )
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