Report: Iran Inaugurates Production Line for Missile

Iranian state media reported the inauguration of a production line for a new version of an air defense missile.

The Saturday report said the missile dubbed Sayyad-3 is an upgrade to previous versions of the missile. Sayyad means “hunter” in Farsi.

The country’s air defense chief, Brig. Gen. Farzad Esmaili, said during a ceremony that the missile is “a completely indigenous technology.”

Iran occasionally announces production of sophisticated homegrown weapons that cannot be independently verified.

Iran announced in December it test-fired Sayyad-3. Its range is 75 miles and it is capable of hitting targets at altitudes of up to 17 miles.

In 1992 Iran began a military self-sufficiency program under which it produces mortars to missiles and tanks to submarines.