28 Mar 2020; MEMO: The minister of defence and support of the Iranian Armed Forces, Brigadier Amir Hatami, announced in a statement that major defence gear will be unveiled this year, noting that the Iranian naval force will receive a DANA destroyer and a minesweeper ship, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).
Hatami affirmed: “We have reached full accuracy in the field of surface-to-surface missiles and will work to increase the destructive capacity of missile warheads.”
He referred to Iran’s defensive system by stating: “As far as the defensive field is concerned, we are focusing on the deterrent aspect, which depends on a certain degree of defensive force and resources, in order to be in a position where the enemy would not dare to attack our country.”
Hatami added: “In the past year, we tried to maintain and stabilise the situation. It was a special year for us, because we faced many fluctuations. In fact, these fluctuations started occurring since the previous year when our enemies publicly planned to destabilise the Islamic Republic of Iran. Of course, we have responded aggressively to all of their actions and the enemy has realised that it cannot challenge the proxy force of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
Hatami asserted that the Iranian defence industry will work on optimising the impact of warheads by increasing the destructive capacity to make the missiles more effective, noting that Iran has been developing very competitive research programs to increase the missiles’ speed, manoeuvrability and agility.
The defence minister also touched on the cruise missiles: “If Allah wills, we will have air cruise missiles, and we are seeking to reach a technology to launch cruise missiles while on the move, which we consider a major step. We will achieve our goal this year.”
Hatami referred to the new accomplishments in the field of ground warfare by explaining: “We have a well-trained group specialised in arming helicopters, increasing its ranges in terms of targeting armoured vehicles and optimising its ability to fly and carry out night operations.”
The Iranian defence minister discussed the missile strike carried out against US forces at Ain Al-Assad airbase, which proved Iran’s deterrent capabilities in the face of aggression.
Iran launched an attack on 8 January on Ain al-Assad airbase in Iraq, where US soldiers are deployed, in response to a US raid that led to the death of the Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani on the third of the same month.
