Iran to unveil new Shafaq missile during Army Day parade.

According to Tasnim News Agency, Iranian Army Airborne Commander General Yousef Qorbani announced the country's plan to unveil a new short-range missile named 'Shafaq' (Twilight) during the military parades on the Army Day in Iran on April 18, adding that the missile is an upgrade of an earlier version with a longer range.

Iran will unveil its new short-range missile named 'Shafaq' during military parades on the Army Day, April 18, 2018. (Picture source: Ali Khodaei)

"The range of the missile has doubled to fly 8 to 12km farther compared with the previous version and given the regional threats that we are facing, they can be highly effective in combats in short-range combat zones," General Qorbani said on Monday. He added that another achievement which is due to be unveiled on the Army Day is the aerial parade of the Airborne units' helicopters which have been equipped with rockets and machineguns to be a good choice for combat in proxy and guerilla warfares.

In relevant remarks last Wednesday, General Qorbani announced that the country's helicopters have been equipped with night-vision systems. "Our dear experts in the air industry have had a highly successful performance and have equipped our helicopters with night-vision systems," General Qorbani said. "We have also become fully indigenized in the field of long-range missile systems. Turning ground-based missiles to air-based missiles and enjoying the best fire-and-forget missiles are among other achievements of the Army Airborne Unit," he added.

General Qorbani underlined that Iran is among the pioneering states in developing helicopters with the capability of fighting electronic warfare, targeting guided missiles, interception of targets from distance and using cruise missiles.