The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) staged a massive three-day naval drill, codenamed the Great Prophet 9, which involved testing various types of strategic weapons, IRNA reported.
On the first day, various exercises were conducted by naval units. Speedboats fired 400 rockets targeting a life-size mock-up US aircraft carrier. Thirty vessels conducted a mine-planting operation, and shoulder-fired missiles and boat-mounted guns engaged drones.
In addition, for the first time in naval maneuvers, a precision-guided missile was successfully test-fired from a helicopter at a carrier.
The war games on day two displayed some of IRGC's strategic weapons in action and covered a stretch from the city of Jask to the city of Sirik in the southern province of Hormozgan.
The RPH drone, the Jamarat missile, Ramiat and Sayyad mines and the Vassel minesweeper were among the pieces of military hardware which were tested.
The RPH reconnaissance drone is capable of flying both during days and nights with a maximum range of 14 kilometers. The unmanned aerial vehicle is equipped with advanced cameras enabling it to take images of the enemy's positions.
The Jamarat weapon is like an engine-free cruise missile which is launched by a gyroplane. The precision of the short-range missile is about one meter and it can hit targets as far as 14 kilometers away.
The Ramiat roadside mine is used to target armored vehicles with high precision and power. The mine is operated by a remote control and is able to destroy armored columns within a radius of 100 to 150 meters.
The Sayyad is a bounding mine with a projectile height of 10-15 meters and is good at targeting the enemy's helicopters.
The Vassel is a rocket-fired minefield sweeper which can clear an area 100 meters long and nearly two meters wide with each shot.
The major drill ended on Friday. The last day featured IRGC's naval, ground and airborne forces on exercise.
The maneuvers were conducted in a vast area covering the strategic Strait of Hormuz, the Persian Gulf and the country's southern coasts.
The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow waterway between Iran and Oman, connecting the Persian Gulf with the Sea of Oman. It is the only sea passage from the Persian Gulf to the high seas and is one of the world's most strategically-important chokepoints, through which one fifth of the world's oil passes.
