TEHRAN - On Saturday Iran inaugurated the production line for a new version of an air defense missile.

The missile, dubbed Sayyad-3, is an upgrade to previous versions of the missile. Sayyad means “hunter” in Persian language.

Farzad Esmaili, commander of the Iranian Army's air defense force, said during the inauguration ceremony that the missile is “a completely indigenous technology.”

The range of Sayyad-3 missile is 120 kilometers (some 75 miles) and is capable of hitting targets at altitudes of up to 27 kilometers (17 miles).

Iran which came under a cruel invasion by the Saddam Hussein regime in the 1980s began a military self-sufficiency program in 1992 and now it produces mortars to missiles and tanks to submarines.