Article Posted on : - Sep 05, 2011

The new 'Shalamche� missile will be fired from the Mersad air defence system (in pic). A file photo

TEHRAN (BNS): Iran has unveiled a new indigenously-made surface-to-air missile system, ‘Shalamche’.

The new missiles, having a range of 40 kilometers, were delivered to the Iranian Army’s Khatam-ol-Anbia base on Sunday in the presence of Defence Minister Ahmad Vahidi, the Mehr news agency reported.

Vahidi said the ‘Shalamche’ missile with a maximum speed of up to Mach 3 can be used in electronic warfare, adding that the weapon’s range would be increased in future.

The missile will be fired from the Mersad air defence system, which is equipped with sophisticated radar signal processing technology and an advanced launcher.

Iran had launched the indigenous Mersad mid-range anti-aircraft system in 2010 which is capable of destroying advanced airplanes in low and mid altitudes.

The Defence Minister said that Iran had attained self-sufficiency in short and medium-systems and it would gradually be able to produce all of its anti-aircraft systems.