Iran demonstrates improved missiles and tests capabilities and practices as part of two-day exercise

30th October 2023 - 14:04 GMT | by Damian Kemp in London

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Iranian Chinooks were used during the military exercise Eqtedar 1402. (Photo: Iranian Army Office)

Iran has tested new weapons at the recently concluded Eqtedar 1402 exercise which focused on what the Iranian government described as ‘emerging threats’.

The Iranian Armed Forces launched the two-day military exercise Eqtedar (Power) 1402 on 27 October, an exercise which saw the demonstration and testing of major weapons including long-range missiles, aircraft, armoured vehicles and UAVs.

At the start of the exercise, spokesman Brig Gen Karim Cheshak told Iran’s state news agency FARS that the goal of the exercise was to assess capability of combat units and tactics, as well as undertake an operational assessment of new weapons.

‘In this two-day exercise, in the first phase of the ground and air transfer, we will have four combat brigades, a combat engineering group, an artillery group, and other forces from different regions of the country simultaneously, under the command of the Northeast Regional Headquarters,’ Brig Gen Cheshak said ahead of the exercise beginning.

‘We have on the agenda [for the second phase] the implementation of reconnaissance operations and the collection of news and information using drone, electronic, and electronic eavesdropping systems of the intelligence force,’ he added.

The third and fourth stages involved the planning and implementation of coastal defence and air operations, with the final stage consisting of planning and implementation of offensive operations in order to destroy the attacking forces in the Sarpol district.

The exercise was reported to involve as many as 200 helicopters and vehicles, and included firing of the upgraded versions of Shafaq, Almas, and Dehlaviyeh missiles to a range of 8km out as far as 20km.

The Dehlaviyeh twin-arm laser-guided missile launcher, a version of version of the Russian 9M133 Kornet ATGM, is reported as having been recently installed on army M113 APCs. Iranian engineers are believed to have extended range of Dehlaviyeh missiles, both its ground-based and air-based versions, from 5.5km to 8km.

The Shafaq air-to-ground missile destroys targets within a range of 20km at a speed of Mach 2.2 and was used alongside the Almas air-to-ground missile which can be mounted on Bell 209 Cobra helicopters and combat UAVs.