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© Associated PressIranian Defence Minister Gen. Ahmad Vahidi, pictured here in Tehran in 2009, says the unmanned aircraft would be able to carry out surveillance and long-range offensive missions, state TV reported.

Unmanned aircraft said to have long range

Iran has launched two production lines to build unmanned aircraft with surveillance and attack capabilities, the country's defence minister announced Monday.

Iran also announced it will soon deploy a missile air defence system more powerful than the advanced Russian S-300 system Tehran ordered from Moscow in 2007 but has yet to receive.

State television quoted Defence Minister Gen. Ahmad Vahidi as saying the unmanned aircraft would be able to carry out surveillance and offensive tasks with high precision and a long range. The two types of drones are named Ra'd (Thunder) and Nazir (Herald), with the former possessing attack capabilities.

Iran announced two years ago it had built an unmanned aircraft that Vahidi said had a range of more than 1,000 kilometres, long enough to reach Israel. It was not clear whether Ra'd and Nazir have such a range.

Iran frequently makes announcements about the strides being made by its military industries, but it is virtually impossible to determine independently the actual capabilities or combat worthiness of the weapons Iran is producing. The country began a military self-sufficiency program in 1992, under which it produces a range of weapons including tanks, medium-range missiles, jet fighters and torpedoes.

New air defence system 'soon'

Also on Monday, a senior air force commander, Gen. Heshmatollah Kasiri, told the official IRNA news agency that Iran will "soon" deploy an air defence system with capabilities matching, or superior to, those of the Russian S-300 system.

The S-300 missiles are capable of shooting down aircraft, cruise missiles and ballistic missile warheads at ranges of more than 145 kilometres and altitudes of over 27,000 metres.

Kasiri said Iran produces its entire air defence needs domestically, but he still criticized Russia for not delivering the S-300 missiles for "unacceptable reasons." Russia agreed in 2007 to sell the S-300 system to Iran, but the missiles have not been delivered. The delay has not been explained, but Israel and the United States have strongly objected to the deal.

The S-300 missiles would bolster Iran's air defences at a time when Israel refuses to rule out military action against Iranian nuclear sites. Israel and the West believe that Iran's nuclear program is geared toward developing nuclear weapons. Iran insists it is working on atomic power only for peaceful purposes.