Article Posted on : - Sep 15, 2010

The Phoenix missile being launched from an F-14 Tomcat aircraft. A file photo

TEHRAN (BNS): Iran is developing a missile more powerful than the Phoenix long-range air-to-air missile system, an Iranian Air Force commander has claimed.

“The Islamic Republic Air Force (IRAF) is working on different projects including one which is a missile stronger than Phoenix missile, one of the best air-to-air missiles in the world,” Lieutnent General Aziz Nasirzadeh, a deputy commander of the IRAF, was quoted as saying by Mehr news agency.

The new weapon system in active guidance mode will travel longer distance. Like its predecessor AIM-54 Phoenix, the new missile could be mounted on the Iranian Air Force's F-14 Tomcat multi-role fighter/interceptor aircraft, the official said.

The F-14 Tomcat is the only fighter aircraft (earlier used by the US Navy) capable of carrying a cluster of six Phoenix missiles and firing them at six different targets simultaneously.

The new missile is being designed to boost Iran’s aerial combat capabilities, the IRAF commander said.

The AIM-54 Phoenix is a US-origin missile system presently in service with the Iranian Air Force after retiring from the US Navy in 2006.