TEHRAN (FNA)- The Iranian Navy plans to launch one of its advanced home-made destroyers, named Damavand, in the country's territorial waters in the current Iranian year (started March 21, 2014), a senior commander announced on Wednesday."The Damavand destroyer will join Iran's naval fleet this year to upgrade the Navy's combat capabilities," Rear-Admiral Afshin Rezaei Haddad said, addressing the commanders and staff of the Navy's Fourth Naval Zone on Wednesday.
He didnt reveal any more details about the features and specifications of the destroyer or the exact date of its launch.
In recent years, Iran has made great achievements in its defense sector and attained self-sufficiency in producing essential military equipment and systems.
Tehran launched an arms development program during the 1980-88 Iraqi imposed war on Iran to compensate for a US weapons embargo. Since 1992, Iran has produced its own tanks, armored personnel carriers, missiles and fighter planes.
Yet, Iranian officials have always stressed that the country's military and arms programs serve defensive purposes and should not be perceived as a threat to any other country.
In June 2013, Iran launched its overhauled and modernized destroyer named Bayandor in the Southern waters of the country in the presence of Army Commander Major General Ataollah Salehi and Rear Admiral Sayyari.
Army officials said the Iranian Navy's power of safeguarding the country's territorial waters as well as maintaining security in regional and international waters will increase after the launch of Bayandor.
Overhauling the main engines, heat exchangers and fuel and oil systems as well as optimizing the monitoring control systems are among the measures adopted before launching the destroyer.
Navy experts have also mounted a fire control system for the destroyer's weapons, a 76-mm and a 40-mm canons and a surface-to-surface Nour (Light) missile system on the destroyer.
By Fars News Agency
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