Major aerial war games started in the central province of Isfahan on Saturday.
The massive maneuvers, named the Devotees of the Velayat Sanctuary 5, involve Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force bases, spearheaded by the 8th Raptor Air Base in Isfahan.
Lieutenant General Massoud Rouzkhosh, spokesperson for the exercise said, "Tens of various interceptor fighters, bombers, reconnaissance planes, transport and refueling aircraft, patrol airplanes and unmanned aerial vehicles will be used in the two-day drill."
On the model of planes, he said Su-24, F-4, F-5, F-14, Mig-29 and Boeing 707 and 747 tankers as well as various types of UAVs are among the aircraft which will carry out operations, with support of C-130 military transport planes, ISNA reported.
The operations will be conducted in three phases over an area of 400,000 square kilometers.
Going on long-range missions with air-to-air refueling, improving the precision of air-to-ground bombing and air-to-air firing, control and guidance of bomber's fire, monitoring operation's area using manned and unmanned aircraft, employing patrol planes to gather information on enemy air strikes and destroying tracked targets are the main objectives of the large-scale exercise, he said.
The spokesperson also said, "Aircraft parts developed by universities, industrial complexes, the Defense Ministry's Aviation Industries Organization and the self-sufficiency Jihad department of the Air Force will be tested during the drill."
A wide range of domestically manufactured rockets, missiles and bombs will also be used in the war game, including smart heavy and semi-heavy bombs, laser- and radar-guided missiles as well as other pieces of military hardware, he said.
The Air Force successfully staged the Devotees of the Velayat Sanctuary 4 in the southern Persian Gulf in 2013.
Iran says its military capability poses no threat to other countries, stressing that its defense doctrine is based on deterrence.
