Alwaght- Iran will soon manufacture supersonic missiles equipped with a jet engine variant, Navy Commander Rear Admiral Hossein Khanzadi said on Saturday.
According to Khanzadi, the cruise missiles currently used by the Iranian naval forces are of subsonic type that can travel near the speed of sound, Press TV reported.
"In the near future, we have on the agenda the production of supersonic missiles, which use Turbofan engines to fly several times the speed of sound,” he added.
Supersonic missiles are capable of traveling at a speed between Mach-2 and Mach-3, which is up to 3,700 kilometres per hour. Mach number is a velocity relative to the speed of sound.
The Iranian commander further announced that the naval forces are seeking to launch missiles vertically, noting that in that case, more missiles could be placed on the deck of ships to hit diversified targets.
The missile engines used by Iran's Navy will definitely undergo changes so that they can withstand higher temperature for a long time, he said, adding that there would also be reforms in refueling and navigation systems.
"We have achieved a range of 300 kilometres in cruise missiles and we will soon reach more exciting ranges," Khanzadi emphasized.
On Thursday, Iran’s Navy said that it had successfully tested new-generation cruise missiles — designed and developed by experts at home — during military drills in the Sea of Oman, which is close to the Strait of Hormuz, and the northern Indian Ocean.
The missiles destroyed targets at a distance of 280 kilometers (170 miles). The projectiles which were launched from both trucks and ships, hit buoyant targets in the sea.
Speaking at the end of the maneuvers, Khanzadi stressed that the production of new home-grown missiles will better equip the Islamic Republic to handle any threat against the Islamic establishment and the Iranian people while strengthening a sense of self-reliance in the Iranian Armed Forces.
Iran says its missiles serve self-defense purposes, stressing that they are mere means of defending the nation against enemy threats.
