TEHRAN – Chief of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) says the achievements of Iran’s armed forces in defense sector are based on modern technologies.

“The Guards has made great achievements in all scientific, economic, technical and industrial fields of the defense sector following the cruel sanctions that were imposed by the Global Arrogance,” Major General Salami said on Wednesday, referring to the United States.

“The defense power of the Guards has reached a point where it can unveil new modern achievements every day,” Mehr quoted Salami as saying.

Iranian military experts and technicians have in recent years made great headways in manufacturing a broad range of indigenous equipment, making the armed forces self-sufficient in the arms sphere.

In August, Iran unveiled a domestically-built missile defense system dubbed “Bavar-373”

Bavar-373 is a mobile missile defense system designed to intercept and destroy incoming hostile targets. The system employs missiles that have a maximum range of 300 kilometers. The system is capable of simultaneously detecting up to 300 targets, tracking 60 targets at once and engaging six targets at a time.

President Hassan Rouhani said after the unveiling ceremony that the missile defense system is more powerful than S-300 missile system and is more like S-400.

Tensions have soared between Iran and the U.S. in recent months, especially after the U.S. drone downing incident and the drone attacks on Saudi Arabia’s Aramco facilities.

On June 20, the IRGC’s aerospace unit downed an American RQ-4 Global Hawk drone over the Strait of Hormuz after it violated Iranian airspace. Despite the U.S. claims that the drone had been flying over international waters, Iran put on show the retrieved parts of the drone in its own territorial waters where it was shot down.

The drone was shot by homegrown air defense missile system “Khordad-3rd”.

Following the incident, General Salami said the downing of the drone sent a “clear message” to Washington.

“The message is that while Tehran is not seeking war it is completely ready to fight if necessary,” Salami said.

MH/PA