In recent years, the Iranian government states that it has self-sufficiency in essential military hardware and defense systems.
Iran established an arms development program during the Iran–Iraq War to counter the weapons embargo imposed on it by the U.S. and its Western allies. Since 1993, Iran has manufactured its own tanks, armored personnel carriers, missiles, radars, boats, submarines, unmanned aerial vehicles, and fighter planes.
History.
From 1925 to the Iranian Revolution in 1979, Iran used to be equipped with the very latest Western hardware. Cases exist where Iran was supplied with equipment even before it was made standard in the countries that developed it (for example the US F-14 Tomcat, or the British Chieftain Tank). Primary suppliers included the United States, Britain, France, the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany), Italy, Israel, and the Soviet Union.
The Iran–Iraq War, and post revolutionary sanctions at the time had a dramatic effect on Iran's inventory of western equipment. Under the pressures of war, all supplies were quickly exhausted and replacements became increasingly difficult to come by. The war eventually forced Iran to turn to the Soviet Union, North Korea, Brazil, and China to meet its short-term military requirements. Nevertheless, the experience of using quality equipment was not lost on any of the branches of the Iranian armed forces. Disappointed by the older Warsaw Pact equipment, Iran sought to develop its own ability to mirror the technology of its likely enemies, and to provide a totally reliable source of equipment for the future.
After the Iranian revolution, developments in military technology were carried out with the technical support of Russia, China, and North Korea; building upon the foundations established by western contractors. Iranian reliance on these countries has rapidly decreased over the last decade in most sectors as Iran sought to gain total independence; A major exception however, is the aerospace sector, where Iran is still dependent on external help. Iran has, at present, reverse engineered existing foreign hardware, adapted it to their own requirements and then mass-produced the finished product. Examples of this abound, such as the Boragh and the IAMI Azarakhsh. In an attempt to make its military industries more sustainable Iran has also sought to export its military products, see Iranian Military Exports.
Defense production.
The following list consists of some weapons systems that Iran manufactures domestically:
Missiles.
Short-range ballistic missiles (SRBM).
"Short-range missiles are considered to have a range up to 1000 kilometers."
Medium-range ballistic missiles (MRBM).
"Medium-range missiles are considered to have a range between 1000 and 3000 kilometers."
Submarines.
Midget Submarines
References.
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