Iran successfully test fires land-to-sea missile

TEHRAN: Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards successfully test-fired on Friday a land-to-sea missile with a range of about 350 km, state television reported.

The firing came on the second day of war games by the Guards' air force and naval divisions amid mounting tensions with the West over Iran's nuclear programme.

"We have successfully test fired a cruise missile called SSN4, or Raad, hitting targets 300 kilometres away in the Sea of Oman and northern Indian Ocean," deputy air force
commander, Ali Fadavi was quoted as saying.

"This missile has the final range of 350 kilometres and can hit all kinds of big warships in all of the Persian Gulf, Sea of Oman and northern Indian Ocean.

"It can carry a 500 kilo warhead and can fly at low altitude, evading radar jammings and immune to electronic measures."

Iranian television showed footage of the missile being fired and hitting its target.

In January 2004, then defence minister Ali Shamkhani said Tehran would proceed with production of a new line of Raad missiles to be deployed in the Gulf region.

The Guards on Thursday successfully test-fired a new Russian-made air defence missile system, whose delivery last month sparked bitter US criticism.

TOR-M1 surface-to-air missiles were shown being fired from mobile vehicle launchers and successfully taking out their targets.

In 2005, Tehran and Moscow signed a contract for the purchase of 29 TOR-M1 missile systems estimated to be worth 700 million dollars.