Iranian Defense Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar said on Wednesday that Russia will deliver the S-300 air defense system to Iran, local Fars news agency reported.
"The S-300 missile system will be delivered to Iran according to a contract which has already been signed by Iran and Russia," Najjar was quoted as saying.
Speaking on the sidelines of a ceremony for the inauguration of two defense projects, Najjar said that "the time for delivery of the S-300 system will be announced later."
The system has the capability to trace and attack targets at higher distances and is of high advantage to our country, he added.
The S-300 is a series of Russia's longer range surface-to-air missile systems. It was developed as a system against aircraft and cruise missiles for former Soviet Union's anti-air defense branch of the military, but later variations were also developed to intercept ballistic missiles.
It is more powerful than the Tor-M1 missile defense system which Russia delivered to Iran earlier this year.
Moscow cut an one-billion-U.S.-dollar deal with Tehran in November 2005 to supply it with Tor-M1 missiles. Russian officials described the missiles as air defense systems that are used only to bring down aircraft and guided missiles at low altitudes but cannot strike ground targets.
Russian news agency Interfax said Tor-M1 is capable of simultaneously tracing up to 48 targets and firing at two targets flying at altitudes ranging from 20 to 6,000 meters.
Source:Xinhua
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