Iran Tests Domestically Built Long-Range Radar System

Iran has tested the most advanced model of a domestically manufactured long-range radar system, the state-run Fars news agency reported, citing a military official.

"We are designing a radar system that has the ability to detect objects at a range of several thousand kilometers," Ebrahim Mohammadzadeh, managing director of Sa-Iran, a company that develops industrial, telecommunication and military equipments, was cited by Fars as saying. "One unit was successfully tested and we hope the model will be operational in coming years."

The production of Iran's new generation of air-defense radar systems with a range of 3,000 kilometers (1,864 miles) is in "its final stages," Amir-Hamid Arjangi, deputy commander of the Khatam al-Anbia air base, said last year, according to a report published today on the website of the state-run news channel Press TV.

Iran regularly announces its domestic technological and military developments, which authorities portray as a symbol of independence from western powers. Iran is under international sanctions over its nuclear program, which the U.S. and its European allies say is a cover for the development of atomic weapons, a charge Iran rejects.

Iranian Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi said on Aug. 21 that his country plans to start several air and naval defense projects this month, according to a separate Press TV report.

Source: Bloomberg