Thursday, July 29, 2010

DTN News: Iran Airforce Might Hold Another Major Drills

DTN News: Iran Airforce Might Hold Another Major Drills
Source: DTN News - - this article / report compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - July 29, 2010: In 8, May 2010, Iran launched the third phase of a major naval exercise in the Strait of Hormuz and the Sea of Oman, it was live on their national TV. Iran's armed forces in past have launched series of large-scale exercises in the country's territorial waters. The expanded naval drills, codenamed Velayat 89 had lasted for eight days and cover some 250,000 square kilometers of Iranian territorial waters. During the fourth day of the drill, hovercrafts strafed mock enemy targets while vessels, destroyers, and frigates blocked their advance towards Iran's territorial waters, a TV correspondent reported it live. In another operation, speed boats, backed by Air Force fighters, stopped and captured an invading vessel. Tactical operations included electronic countermeasures (ECM) as well as disabling enemy radars and communication systems. The third stage of the drill was with reconnaissance and drone aircrafts conducting interception operations, and was also reported successful. Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari has said the exercise is to display Iran's "defensive and deterrent power," and send a message of "peace and friendship" to regional states. In another exercises, the Iran's Revolutionary Guards conducted a wide-ranging naval exercise in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, codenamed Great Prophet 5. Brigadier General Hossein Salami, deputy commander of the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC), said April's three-day drills were designed to "ensure security in the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, and the Gulf of Oman." Iranian military officials have repeatedly warned that if Tehran is attacked, it will retaliate by blocking the Strait of Hormuz. Nearly 40% of the world's seaborne oil shipments pass through the strategically important waterway between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. Meanwhile Iran's Air Force will stage massive week-long drills to start Saturday, a national news agency quoted a senior commander said yesterday. Air Force Lieutenant Commander for Operations Mohammad Alavi told FNA that the exercises, code named Fada'eyan-e Harreem-e Vellayat (Devotees to the Sanctity of Religious Leadership), will be held July 31 through August 7. He said 43 warplanes, including ( F-4, F-5, F-7) and Sukhoi Su-24 fighters, as well as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) will take part in the exercises. He said a variety of air-to-surface missiles and other weapons would be test-fired during the drills. Mr Alavi also stressed that the drills "are aimed at demonstrating the power of the Iranian Air Force and boosting the combat power of different Air Force units."
*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News, contact: dtnnews@ymail.com

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