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Iran develops air-to-air missile, radar-evading aircraft

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-12-02 10:41

TEHRAN -- Iran's Air Force Commander Brigadier General Hassan Shahsafi said that Iran had developed new air-to-air missile and heat-seeking radar-evading aircraft, the official IRNA news agency reported Monday.

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"The design of the aircraft has been completed and the preliminary samples of these aircrafts are being constructed," Shahsafi was quoted as saying.

"After the necessary tests, the aircrafts will show the real face," he added.

Shahsafi also revealed that the missile has a range of 40 kilometers and "there are plans to extend the new version to 100 km in range."

In November, Iran test-fired new generation of surface-to-surface missile, Sejjil, which was claimed to have a range of about 2,000 km.

Iran's successive war shows and missile-development claims came amid the tensions over its defiance concerning the halt of its nuclear program.

The United States has denounced Iran's test of long-range missiles, saying the development of ballistic missiles could be used as a delivery vehicle for nuclear weapon.

Israel, the United States and their Western allies have long been accusing Iran of secretly developing nuclear weapons, but Iran insists that its nuclear program is only for peaceful purposes.