FNA - Head of the Marine Industries Organization of Iran General Amir Rastegari announced that the Iranian Navy will be equipped with new and upgraded destroyers in the coming days.

�Damavand and Dena destroyer will be equipped with surface-to-air missiles and surface-to-surface missiles, which boast higher speed, power and range than the earlier versions of missiles, and are easier in application and maintenance,� Rear Admiral Amir Rastegari said on Saturday.

The senior military official, meantime, announced that the propulsion systems of the destroyers have also been improved in a bid to bolster the Navy�s reaction pace in critical marine situations.

�We have achieved the technology to manufacture phased-array and optical radars, and we will install such systems on Dena and Damavand,� Rear Admiral Rastegari added.

He hailed significant achievements of the marine industries by the help of domestic experts, and said that the mentioned radars have been offered to several foreign buyers, a number of which are among the industrialized countries.

Highlighting the vital role the marine industries and the naval forces play in the defending the country, which is linked to the free waters, the military chief noted that the Defense Ministry has geared up to become self-sufficient in this field by developing different strategic marine equipment, such as new propulsion systems, gasoline and diesel engines, power transmission systems, and monitoring systems.

Rear Admiral Rastegari stressed that destroyers and giant submarines will become a big part of the Iranian Navy�s flotilla in the near future.

In a relevant development in late November, Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Hossein Khanzadi announced that his forces will be equipped with a new home-made destroyer, named 'Dena', within the next two months.

"God willing, we will witness addition of the destroyer, Dena, to the Navy in (the Iranian month of) Bahman (January 21 to 19 February)," Rear Admiral Khanzadi told reporters in a press conference held in Tehran to mark the national Navy Day (November 28).

He also noted that Sahand, another destroyer which joined the Navy last year, is now ready for missions in the ocean, and further expressed the hope that Taftan warship would be delivered to the Naval forces next year.

"Concurrently, we will witness the launch of a mine-clearing warship, Saba, in the Navy as well as a drone, namely Simorq, which has a flight durability of 24 hours and capability to carry different types of weapons, including bombs, rockets and projectiles."

Elsewhere, Rear Admiral Khanzadi also revealed plans to manufacture a new class of heavy destroyers, under a project dubbed Negin, which would each weigh over 5,000 tons in a bid to bolster the country�s defense might in the naval missions.

He stressed the high level of preparedness of the Iranian Armed Forces in the face of threats, and said "The Iranian Armed Forces enjoy very high capabilities, and the US does not dare to directly confront Iran, and that is why it uses proxy agents, such as terrorist groups, to attain its goals."

Rear Admiral Khanzadi also said that the Iranian, Chinese and Russian naval forces will soon stage joint wargames in Northern Indian Ocean.

�In the near future, we will conduct joint drills with naval forces of China and Russia in the country�s Southern waters in the vicinity of the Northern Indian Ocean,� he added.

Rear Admiral Khanzadi said that the preliminary planning for the wargames was done last month and the forces are preparing to stage the drills.

�After the wargames, there will be one with the naval forces of the Indian Ocean littoral states, which will be held within the framework of the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS), in a bid to promote convergence among the navies and achieve security in this region through collective contributions from all forces situated there,� he said.

In relevant remarks, Admiral Khanzadi had said that similar to Damavand, another Iranian destroyer, Dena, was also being equipped with vertical launching system (VLS) missile cells, adding that the two were marking a new chapter in the country�s naval combat capabilities.

"In line with directives of the Commander in Chief, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, who has called for higher level of immunity for sailing units, Iran�s Navy is devising plans for equipping its vessels with VLS missile cells," he said.

�That�s why we are working on missiles for vertical launching systems; and it is not just limited to Damavand (destroyer). A similar project is underway in the Southern (HQ of the navy),� the commander added.

Khanzadi added that Iran will soon fire tests missiles from the VLS, highlighting that all vessels of Iran�s Navy will be equipped with the new system.

According to Admiral Khanzadi, Iran ranks first among Persian Gulf littoral states in producing marine equipment.