Iran Army set to hold large-scale air defense drill

A senior Iranian military commander says the country’s Army and the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) are set to stage massive aerial exercises aimed at bolstering preparedness for defending the country’s skies against enemy threats.

Brigadier General Qader Rahimzadeh, commander of the country’s Khatam al-Anbia Air Defense Base, said on Monday that the operational phase of the joint large-scale drill, codenamed Modafe’an-e Aseman-e Velayat 1400 (Defenders of Velayat Skies 1400), will begin tomorrow in the country’s central desert areas.

He added that units of the Iranian Army’s Air Defense Force, the IRGC Aerospace Division, and the Army’s Air Force would take part in the exercises.

The commander noted that the drill is aimed at boosting the combat preparedness, strengthening deterrent power, evaluating the homegrown air defense systems in countering various threats, full defense against electronic warfare and cyberattacks, improving knowledge and skill of the units, and boosting coordination among the Army and the IRGC’s command and control centers.

He said the participating units would employ combined, indigenous and creative tactics and techniques that would be implemented in proportion to threats.