Roundup: Iran wraps up military exercise, flexes muscle with firing missiles

Iran concluded a three-day large-scale military exercise on Wednesday by test-firing myriad of missiles.

On Wednesday, Iran's air defense forces "successfully" test-fired its long-range surface-to-air S-200 missile system in the military exercise in southern Persian Gulf region, Press TV reported.

Besides, various other medium-range missile systems, including Mersad (Ambush), were deployed to annihilate mock aggressive aircraft.

On the day, the Iranian forces carried out the first operational test of Sayyad-3 (Hunter-3) missiles by Talash (Struggle) homegrown system to hit high-altitude targets, Tasnim news agency reported.

Capable of intercepting targets within a range of 150 km in high altitudes, Sayyad-3 has been paired with Talash missile system which also launches Sayyad-2 missiles against targets at medium altitudes.

The paired air defense system is also equipped with locally-manufactured fire control radar, dubbed Ofoq (Horizon), Tasnim said.

It was also announced here on Wednesday that since Monday when the drills began, the Iranian air defense warned several fighter jets and drones belonging to the U.S. navy not to approach the airspace of the military exercise.

Over the past three days, the air defense has given warnings to 12 aircraft of trans-regional countries to stay away from the country's airspace, Abbas Farajpour, the spokesman for the war game, was quoted as saying by Tasnim.

On Tuesday, Iran also tested a number of high-precision missiles as well as radar operations in the military exercise, according to Press TV.

On the day, the low and high-range missile defense systems of Mersad and Ya Zahra-3 stationed at Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC)'s Khatam al-Anbiya air defense base reconnoitred, intercepted, and destroyed mock airborne targets, the report said.

In the radar operators by Iran's army and the IRGC, the long-range aerospace telecommunications system named Aseman (Sky) provided sustainable contact among the elements of the drill over a range of over 150 km.

Among the objectives of the maneuver on Tuesday was detection and interception of the hypothetical enemy's unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) with homegrown missile systems, Tasnim reported.

On the first day of the drills on Monday, various defensive apparatuses were "successfully" scrambled to designated positions in record time, the report said.

Also, the drills on Monday focused on intelligence gathering during reconnaissance missions and capturing aerial footage from designated targets in the sea using reconnaissance drones.

According to the reports, the Iranian air defense also employed a broad range of equipment, including tactical radars, mobile watch posts, and ground-based and air-based eavesdropping systems in the drills.

The exercise set a record in the tactical mobility of armed forces, after the rapid deployment of radar and missile systems, artillery units, as well as communication and electronic warfare systems to the operation zone, Tasnim quoted military official as saying.

Code-named "Defenders of Velayat Skies 7," the war game covered the Persian Gulf provinces of Hormozgan and Bushehr along with the southwestern province of Khuzestan.

According to the official IRNA news agency, Iran's Air Defense Commander Brig. Gen. Farzad Esmaili said that the drill was held in an area covering 496,000 km.

Participants in the drill included the air defense forces of both the Iranian army and the IRGC, navy support units, the army and IRGC's ground forces artillery units, Esmaili said.

The exercises, which included around 17,000 military personnel members, simulated intense and large-scale electronic warfare.

The maneuvers sought to hone coordination among the different divisions of the armed forces employed to defend the country's airspace. Endit