Deputy Commander of the Iranian Army’s Ground Forces Brigadier General Kiomars Heidari said the “Cobra Melli” (National Cobra) helicopter gunship will be deployed for the first time in a specialized military drill by the Army’s airborne units in the near future, Fars News Agency reported Wednesday.
The commander did not offer a specific date for the drill but described it as “a showcase of military self-sufficiency in the field of helicopters.”
“In the past, the army’s airborne units were hugely dependent on countries that built helicopters but thanks to efforts by Iranian experts of the Ground Forces, such dependency has entirely been done away with,” said Gen. Heidari. “We now depend on native forces to conduct all repair and maintenance work on our helicopter fleets.”
He also emphasized that all the design and development process for building the helicopter gunship has been carried out in the country, adding that in some respects its capabilities are superior to the US-built Apache helicopters.
He reiterated that in the upcoming army drill, indigenous military helicopters will be armed with a variety of domestically-manufactured precision arms and missiles.
Heidari stated as well that a number of advanced anti-helicopter and anti-armor weaponry would also be examined in the upcoming drill.