Iran Announces Development of Three Helicopter-borne Missiles

Iran's Ministry of Defense and the Army Aviation have developed three new missiles with range over kilometers to be mounted on the military’s attack helicopters, with a view to their mass-production in near future.

The missiles are respectively dubbed Heidar, Qamar-e Bani Hashem, and the airborne version of the Dehlaviyeh armor-piercing missile, Fars News Agency reported on Thursday.

Heidar missile is a precision air-to-ground missile that can be used against armored and ground-based targets, including enemy gatherings. It can pierce its target as deep as one meter and be fitted with various seeker systems that would enable its deployment in different weather conditions.

The Qamar-e Bani Hashem missile can be used against the same targets, but can also function as an air-to-air projectile, lock onto its targets upon release, and be deployed in the dark.

The latest Dehlaviyeh missile is a laser-guided air-to-ground projectile, which is similarly suitable for deployment against armored targets and is low in weight. It can pierce targets as deep as 1.20 meters.

The new products have undergoing various tests and “will soon enter mass-production," according to the report.