Iran Develops New Missiles for its Ageing Bell Helicopters

The Iranian Army aviation unveiled homegrown missiles system that can be paired with its ageing fleet of Bell 106 and AH-1 helicopters.

Iran’s Army Commander Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi and Army Ground Force Commander Brigadier General Kiomars Heidari were shown the nee missiles at an exhibition of military achievements of the local defense industries in Tehran on Saturday.

The first is the Qadr-29 missile system that can be installed on Bell 206 helicopters. The system fires missiles with a warhead weighing four kilograms at a range of 150 kilometers and can be used in diverse operations.

The exhibition also included an integrated missile system paired with the Bell AH-1 Cobra choppers that allows the pilot to fire air-launched missiles, such as Almas and Qaem, using fire-and-forget missile guidance technology.

Iran is supposed to possess 300 Bell helicopters of various types, of which the most numerous being the Bell 214A.