Brig. Gen. Ahmad Reza Pourdastan who was speaking in a press conference Monday morning held for the occasion of the upcoming National Army Day (April 17) in the ground forces headquarters, said that the first military drill would be due in June and would focus upon improving general military capabilities of organization and mobilization; “along with June drills, Isfahan’s General Zone of Nasrabad will be hosting ‘Beitul Moqaddas,’” he told the press.
Pourdastan also announced holding of 17 specialist drills; “the drills will address capabilities in missile, engineering and logistics, electronic communication command, drones, modern warfare, air and land joint operations, and hostage release; natural disaster management is among the missions of the Ground Forces where we will have five drills as well,” he added, “and during which our engineering equipment will enter operation to simulate rubble removal.”
The commander then turned to possible unveilings of a number of achievements; “a 57-mm Bahman wheeled self-propelled air defense system (SPAD) on which 57-mm caliber canons could be installed; the canons now enjoys optimization and X-ray radar system and are capable of connecting to a network,” he detailed. “Shahram NRBC surveillance vehicle (nuclear, radiological, biological and chemical) will be unveiled Wednesday this week as a small mobile laboratory for detection of chemical, radiological, nuclear, and biological agents.”
Pourdastan told the press that overhauled and optimized Chieftain Tanks would join the inventory of moving armored weapons of the Ground Forces by the end of the year. On most recent conditions in the borders, he rejected to comment about the situation, only adding that the Ground Forces had acquired necessary defensive capabilities proportionate the gravity of present or emergent threats.
“An imaging system now has gone operative which provides huge capabilities to the border patrol; no critical threat has been detected in the borders yet, with an exception being in March when a small clique of ISIL terrorists infiltrated, and immediately were detected and destroyed,” he told the press.
On question of Ground Forces being dispatched to Syria to fight against terrorism, Pourdastan reiterated that forces provided consultation to Syrian army; “we see the ISIL as the most dominant threat and work to meet the threat as an inherent duty of Ground Forces,” he added.
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