Wednesday, Aug 25, 2010
TEHRAN (AFP)--Iran has test fired its home-built surface-to-surface Fateh 110 missile, state television reported Wednesday, less than a week after a similar test was carried out on another missile.
State television showed a sand-colored missile being launched from a vehicle and blasting into the sky from a desert terrain, leaving behind a thick plume of smoke. It did not say when the missile was fired.
Iran's English-language Press TV said the Fateh 110, or Conqueror, missile is nine meters long and weighs 3,500 kilograms.
The channel's website quoted Defence Minister Ahmad Vahidi as saying that the third generation Fateh 110 was a "single-stage solid propellant" missile with a longer range.
He didn't specify the range of the missile but Iran has previously paraded a version of Fateh 110 which it said could travel between 150 and 200 kilometers.
Vahidi said the latest version of Fateh 110 was "more accurate."
The launch of Fateh 110 follows an announcement by Vahidi on Friday that Iran had successfully test fired its Qiam [Rising] short-range missile, which was propelled by liquid fuel.
The test firing of Fateh 110 comes two days after Iran began mass-producing two high-speed variants of missile-launching assault boats, the Seraj and Zolfaqar.
On Sunday, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad presented Iran's home-built bomber drone, which he described as an "ambassador of death" to Iran's enemies.
The military announcements come as Iran marks its annual "government week," during which it flaunts its latest achievements in various fields.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
25-08-10 0815GMT
