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Iran Shows Off New Air Defense System

September 21, 2012

Iran has displayed a new air defense system it says was designed to confront American warplanes in case of a U.S. attack, according to local reports.

The Iranian-made Raad, or Thunder, system was part of a military parade in Tehran to commemorate the start of the Iran-Iraq war in 1980, Fars News Agency reports.

General Ami Ali Hajizadeh, who heads the airspace division of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, said the Raad's missiles have a range of 50 kilometers and can hit targets at altitudes of 22,860 meters.

Hajizadeh said the system was built with the "aim" of confronting American warplanes.

The unveiling of the new system comes amid growing frustration in the West over Iran's suspected nuclear program and threats from Israel that it will launch a preemptive strike on Iran to disable suspected weapons sites.

Based on reporting by AP

Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/iran-shows-new-air-defense-sytem/24715758.html

Copyright (c) 2012. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.