Iran's air force will soon test-fire a new guided-bomb, the Iranian Fars news agency reported on Monday.
"The 2,000-pound Qassed-1 guided-bomb has been mass produced and given to the Air Force ... its new version will be test-fired soon," Iranian Air Force commander-in-chief Hassan Shahsafi was quoted as saying by the agency.
"The Qassed-2 has a longer range, more accuracy and enjoys more explosive power than its older version," Shahsafi said.
The Iranian Air Force first test-fired the Qassed-1 (Herald) bomb in 2006 and put it into service the year after.
In February, Iran started production of two domestically-developed missiles with enhanced armor-penetration capability, the Qaem ground-to-air missile and the Toufan-5 anti-tank missile.
According to analysts, Iran has recently made significant progress in developing various types of combat planes and succeeded in gaining the technical know-how for producing aircraft and drones with stealth capabilities.
Iran launched a domestic arms development program after a U.S. weapons embargo was imposed during its 1980-88 war with Iraq. Since 1992, the Islamic Republic has reportedly produced its own Saeqeh and Azarakhsh jet fighters, stealth-capable Ghadir submarine, missile boats, torpedoes, tanks and armored carrier vehicles.
Iran frequently holds military drills and shows off modern weaponry in an effort to demonstrate its readiness to thwart any attack on its territory.
MOSCOW, March 1 (RIA Novosti)
