This week, Iran test-fired a “new generation” of sophisticated cruise missiles in a naval exercise in the Gulf of Oman, according to the Iranian navy.
The official Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) confirmed that the missiles successfully destroyed targets at a distance of 280 kilometres (170 miles), though the range of missiles can reportedly be extended.
Iran’s Navy chief, Admiral Hossein Khanzadi, said the cruise missiles are made with new warheads fully equipped with homing, a missile guidance system with built-in navigation systems to track and hit a target. He said the missiles were capable of resisting “any kind of electronic war”.
Projectiles were launched from both a truck and a ship, hitting an empty ship in the sea.
The naval drill is believed to be Iran’s first since May, when an Iranian missile fired during a training exercise missed its intended target and mistakenly hit an Iranian naval vessel. 19 sailors were killed and 15 injured in the strike.
