IRGC flexes naval muscles with ballistic, cruise missile launches
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy carried out on Friday simultaneous launches of ballistic and cruise missiles during a large-scale exercise in the Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman.
The launches were conducted from inland sites during the second phase of a major military drill by the IRGC Navy, codenamed ‘Eghtedar” (authority) exercise, striking predetermined targets with high precision.
Various cruise missiles — Qadr 110, Qadr 380, Qadir — as well as the ballistic missile 303 were fired simultaneously from multiple points deep inside the country during the drill.
Moreover, participating drone systems carried out successful attacks on simulated enemy bases, destroying the designated objectives.
In another segment of the exercise, air defense systems deployed on IRGC vessels practiced heavy countermeasures against incoming aerial threats simulating attacks on fast-attack boats and Iranian coasts.
On the first day of the event on Thursday, naval units conveyed their firm message by issuing warnings to American ships present in the region.
The exercise, codenamed Shahid Mohammad Nazeri, took place across the Persian Gulf, the Nazeat maritime zone – Abu Musa, Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb, and Siri islands, the Strait of Hormuz, as well as the Sea of Oman.
Advanced air defense systems, including Nawab, Majid and Misagh, operated under electronic warfare conditions, using artificial intelligence to detect flying and naval targets in reduced time and strike them precisely.
Nazeri was the commander of the elite commando units of the IRGC Navy. He is widely recognized in Iran for his direct involvement in the capture of 10 American sailors – nine men and one woman – who wandered into Iran’s territorial waters on January 12, 2016.
Showcasing its capabilities and signaling deterrence against foreign powers, the Iranian Navy frequently conducts large-scale drills in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman.