TEHRAN (FNA)- The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps has mounted Nour (Light) missile systems on its MIL17 helicopters, an IRGC commander announced on Monday.
"The IRGC's MIL17 helicopters are now equipped with Nour cruise missiles with a range of 120 km," Lieutenant Commander of the IRGC Navy General Alireza Tangsiri told FNA.
Anti-ship Nour cruise missile systems are ultra-advanced and self-relying systems which have remarkably improved in radar, satellite, precision, range and navigation terms compared to their predecessors.
Elsewhere, Tangsiri said that the IRGC has also mounted short-range Nasr cruise missiles on its 206 mini helicopters.
The smart Nasr missiles are assessed as a good complementary weapons system for Iran's coastal defense units which are equipped with various types of missiles and artillery systems.
Military experts believe that Nasr increases the Navy's targeting capabilities in any possible confrontation with those enemy vessels infiltrating the country's territorial waters.
'Nasr 1' cruise missile is capable of destroying 3-ton weighted vessels.
In December 2008, the Iranian naval forces had successfully test-fired the surface-to-surface Nasr 1 in the final stage of Unity 87 wargames in the Persian Gulf waters.
Tehran launched an arms development program during the 1980-88 Iraqi imposed war on Iran to compensate for a US weapons embargo. Since 1992, Iran has produced its own tanks, armored personnel carriers, missiles and fighter planes.
Yet, 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.
By Fars News Agency
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