Iran starts mass production of new air defense system

TEHRAN,May 21(MNA) – Iran launched the production line for a new domestically manufactured air defense system named the Ninth Herz in a ceremony held in Tehran on Monday ahead of the 31st anniversary of the liberation of Khorramshahr. Iran liberated the southwestern port city of Khorramshahr from Iraqi occupation on May 24, 1982. The Iraqis had captured the city early in the war on October 26, 1980. During the ceremony, Iranian Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi said that the new air defense system had been designed and manufactured by competent Iranian experts at Iran’s Aerospace Industries Organization. The Ninth Herz is a highly sophisticated system which is able to detect and track targets at low altitudes and hit them automatically, the defense minister said. It is a mobile system which enjoys high maneuverability and can be operated at nights, he added. Vahidi also said, “The system can be connected to the country’s air defense network and can be deployed and prepared in less than a few minutes to deal with threats.” Elsewhere in his remarks, he said that Iranian military forces would give a firm response to any possible hostile action against the country.