Iran's military forces to hold massive air defence drills in October

The Iranian Armed Forces, including the Army, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), and Basij (volunteer) Forces, are scheduled to take part in massive air defense exercises in the mountainous parts of the country in October, a senior Iranian commander said. Commander of Khatam ol-Anbia Air Defense Base Brigadier General Farzad Esmayeeli announced that Khatam ol-Anbia Air Defense Base along with the country's Armed Forces' units, including the IRGC and Basij Forces, will participate in the exercises which will be held late in October 2013. Esmayeeli added that nearly 8,000 military personnel will be directly involved in the drill, while another 17,000 will provide logistics for the maneuvers. The top commander pointed to an air defense drill held last year, saying the exercises involved a large number of troops as well as indigenously-developed air defense systems and were staged in a warm region of the country. However, he underlined the upcoming air defense drills will be held in a cold and mountainous region, so that the military units involved will be able to rehearse their skills in different climatic conditions. In November 2012, different systems with the capability of intercepting incoming cruise missiles as well as optimized and indigenized air defense missiles were tested in the massive aerial exercises code-named 'Modafe'an-e Aseman-e Velayat 4 (Defenders of Velayat Skies 4)'. The advanced home-made Ya Zahra air defense missile system was among the systems tested in the wargames. The air defense weapon is capable of identifying, intercepting and destroying aerial targets, including different types of aircraft, choppers and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). Ya Zahra is a mobile system and can be linked to the country's integrated air defense network and is capable of engaging and destroying several aerial targets simultaneously and also has a powerful fast reaction and full detection capabilities. During the wargames, Iran also tested a variety of missile systems, including anti-cruise weapons. Also artilleries, shoulder-launched weapons and low-altitude missile systems were used in the military drills. Iranian air defense units also exercised targeting Unmanned Aerial Vehicles with anti-aircraft Hawk missiles. The missile was fired by a mobile air defense system on a missile-launching vehicle. The Iranian officials have always stressed that the country's military and arms programs serve defensive purposes and should not be perceived as a threat to any other country.