Iran on Tuesday launched production of an...

"The Mesbah (Lantern) 1 air-defense system is designed to counter air attacks, different types of airplanes, cruise missiles, helicopters and other air threats at low altitudes," Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi was quoted by the Fars news agency as saying.

He said the new system features "high destruction power" with capacity to fire up to 4,000 rounds per minute, "rapid reaction against threats," and high accuracy and precision.

He added that the Mesbah 1 was also capable of tracking and intercepting unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), but was especially effective against low-flying cruise missiles.

Vahidi said the system would go into service "in the near future."

He added that the Defense Ministry was currently working on a variety of short-range, mid-range and long-range air-defense systems.

According to Fars, Tehran launched an arms development program in the 1980s to "compensate for a U.S. weapons embargo," producing

Pages: [1] 2