Iran's Defense Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar said that Iran has manufactured a smart anti-aircraft gun, Iran's satellite Press TV website reported on Saturday.

"Iran successfully manufactured a smart 100mm anti-aircraft gun as part of a campaign to boost the country's defense capabilities," Najjar was quoted as saying.

He said the Defense Industries Organization has completed the wholly domestic task of manufacturing the 100mm anti-aircraft gun and its necessary ammunition "to counter aerial threats posed by enemy fighters, helicopters and cruise missiles."

"One of the most important features of this weapon is its smart system which can track down the target and fire at it automatically," he said, adding that the shells used in the system are equipped with a fuze which enables them to explode and terminate the target from a close distance even if they fail to hit it directly.

The gun is an artillery system that can create a missile shield against enemy aircraft at medium and low altitudes, according to the report.

Earlier in December 2008, Iran's Air Force Commander Brigadier General Hassan Shahsafi said that Iran had developed new air-to-air missiles and heat-seeking radar-evading aircraft, according to the official IRNA news agency.

Shahsafi also revealed that the missile has a range of 40 kilometers and "there are plans to extend the new version to 100 km in range."

In November, Iran test-fired a new generation of surface-to-surface missile, Sejjil, which was claimed to have a range of about 2,000 km.

Iran's successive war shows and missile-development claims come amid the tensions over its defiance concerning the halt of its nuclear program.

The United States and Israel have consistently refused to rule out the possibility of military strikes against Iran over its refusal to halt its nuclear program.

The United States and its allies have accused Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons under the cover of a civilian nuclear program. Iran denied the U.S. charges and insisted that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.

Source: Xinhua