Iranian Defense Ministry to Equip IRGC with Flying Boats This Week

Fars News Agency – September 26, 2010

Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi announced on Sunday that his ministry is due to equip the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) with new flying boats this week.

"The ceremony to deliver the flying boats to the IRGC Navy will be held this week," Vahidi told reporters in a ceremony to commemorate the Week of Sacred Defense, marking the country's resistance against the 8-year-long Iraqi invasion in 1980.

Elsewhere, he noted Russia's decision on annulling the contract for the delivery of the sophisticated S-300 air defense system to Iran, and said Tehran plans to manufacture a similar defense system "but some of our experts do not believe in (manufacturing) the Russian S-300 missile system".

"We will not build (an Iranian version of) S-300 air defense but will manufacture a long-range defense system similar to the S-300 in range," he explained.

The remarks by Vahidi came after Russian President Dmitry Medvedev issued a decree on the ban, which also prohibited exports of tanks, aircraft and sea vessels to Iran.

Codenamed 'the SA-20 Gargoyle' by NATO, the S-300 system is a mobile land-based system designed to detect and shoot down aircraft within a 120 km (75 miles) distance.

Iran has recently taken giant strides in building missile defense systems. The Iranian Defense Ministry in April built the first home-made mid-range missile defense system named as 'Mersad' capable of destroying advanced airplanes in low and mid altitudes.

Also in May, Vahidi inaugurated the production line of a powerful missile defense shield to destroy incoming cruise missiles.

"Mesbah (Lantern) 1 air-defense system is designed and built to counter air attacks, different kinds of airplanes, cruise missiles, choppers and other air threats in low altitudes," he said at the time.

"The defense system has been designed on the basis of increasing the volume of fire and controlling it by a reliable system," Vahidi added.

Vahidi reminded that the Mesbah 1 missile shield is also capable of tracing and intercepting Unmanned Ariel Vehicles (UAVs).
Source: http://english.farsnews.net/newstext.php?nn=8907041654

Comment – September 26, 2010
In itself the above may not seem particularly important but it is only the latest in a long line of reports that indicate that Iran is becoming increasingly self reliant in providing for its defence needs.

The day before the above was announced Iran’s defence minister officially opened a production line for two new strategic weapons.

The first was for a new all-purpose military vehicle, the Iranian equivalent of U.S. Humvee or a British Land Rover. While the second was for a weapon that could be used in close conjunction with the vehicle: a 120mm mortar with a 16-kilometer range.

Both these products are only part of a much bigger picture however.

Taken with the launch of its own missile destroyer, its own domestically designed and developed combat aircraft, its own tanks and helicopters, its own medium range surface-to-surface missiles and its own armed unmanned drone, Iran is in the process of developing a domestic arms industry and becoming a power in its own right.

Although it may not be a global power yet, Iran is nonetheless becoming a regional power to be reckoned with.

It is also putting itself on a war footing in preparation for what many see as an impending clash with the West.

All of which makes it more important from a Western/Zionist point of view to hit Iran before it develops much further.

We cannot say exactly when that will be but with each advance in its military technology Iran becomes a more pressing target for the West to strike.

Last updated 29/09/2010