Mehdi Bagheri – Xinhuanet May 12, 2010
Iran wrapped up its eight-day navy drill in its southern waters on Wednesday, calling the drill " successful."
According to official IRNA news agency, the drill came to an end after eight days of massive exercise with the parade of Army Naval forces including Iranian warships and hovercraft, heavy and light submarines as well as Iranian Air Force warplanes and helicopters.
Spokesman of Iran's navy drill Gasem Rostamabadi said the country's naval force carried out the exercises and operations of its eight-day war game "successfully."
"Over 150 exercises and operations by Iran's ground, air and naval forces were carried out successfully in the massive navy drill," Rostamabadi was quoted by IRNA as saying.
"All the exercises were successful," he said, adding that "This war game can be regarded as a turning point in using domestic achievements including lightweight submarines, destroyer, radar systems and electronic war systems."
Meanwhile, Iran's Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi said Wednesday that the country's exercise sent a warning message concerning any adventure against Iran, according to semi- official ISNA news agency.
Referring to the U.S. threats against Iran, Vahidi said, "We think that the U.S. officials are wise enough to carry out any measure against Iran and these drills are warnings to any country which may think of adventure against Iran."
The military exercise dubbed "Velayat 89" started in the country's southern waters, including the Strait of Hormuz, the Sea of Oman and northern part of Indian Ocean, last Wednesday.
"Velayat-89" drill completes "Great Messenger 5" war game and shows Iran's mighty presence in the Persian Gulf, Oman Sea and Indian Ocean, Vahidi told reporters on Wednesday.
Earlier in April, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps ( IRGC) naval force conducted a series of war games in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, code-named as the Great Messenger 5, to boost vigilance and combat preparedness of its naval forces.
The "Velayat-89" drill involved combat preparation of forces and testing weapons first produced and optimized in Iran, Vahidi was quoted as saying by ISNA. In the meantime, Rostamabadi said Wednesday that the objective of the war game was to send peace and friendship message to the regional friendly countries, according to IRNA.
To establish security in the Persian Gulf, Hormuz strait and northern Indian Ocean was also among the objectives of the war game, he added.
On Tuesday, Iran test-fired the sophisticated mid-range cruise missiles on the seventh day of the navy drill, the local satellite Press TV reported.
The Iranian Navy tested the mid-range surface-to-surface Nour ( Light) missile launched from the homemade Jamaran Destroyer, the report said.
Two mid-range coast-to-sea cruise missiles were also test-fired on Tuesday and successfully hit their simulated targets, according to Press TV.
The cruise missiles have a range of 50-60 kilometers and can evade radars as they fly at very low altitudes, said Press TV.
On Monday, the sixth day of the war game, a senior army commander said that Iran Air Force tested a series of new air-to- surface missiles, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.
The new missiles were fired by the country's Phantom fighters and hit and destroyed the targets successfully, Lieutenant Commander of the Iranian Air Force for the war game General Seyed Mohammad Alawi said in an interview with Fars.
"The new missiles have been loaded onto the Army's fighter jets ... They had a fully successful performance today," Alawi was quoted as saying.
The new developments have boosted the capability of the Army's fighter jets in confronting naval targets, the commander said.
On Sunday, Alawi told Fars that the Iranian Army's Air Force has recently equipped its fighter jets with newly-developed sophisticated electronic warfare systems.
The Iranian army also exercised electronic eavesdropping by a special type of aircraft and also used sea patrol airplanes on the fifth day of the war games on Sunday, according to the report.
The combat, support, logistic, radar and electronic units of the navy force as well as the force's surface-to-surface, under- water and air missiles were used in the drill while it enjoyed the support of Air Force fighter planes.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2010-05/12/c_13290991.htm
Last updated 14/05/2010
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