National flags in Bandar Abbas, Iran
National flags in Bandar Abbas, IraniStock

Iran's Deputy Defense Minister Qassem Taqizadeh claimed on Saturday that the ministry has started manufacturing air defense laser cannons.

Taqizadeh said, according to the Xinhua news agency, that Iran has obtained the technical know-how to manufacture laser air defense cannons for bringing down hostile quadcopters and small aircraft.

The military hardware has passed laboratory tests and is manufactured in the country, he added.

He further boasted that Iran has improved the range and precision of ground-launched cruise missiles with a new digital mapping system, whose testing stages will be over in the near future.

Efforts are underway to manufacture ground-to-ground ballistic missiles with pinpoint accuracy, claimed Taqizadeh, adding that Iran is now among the world's "top five powers in the missile industry."

Iran often boasts of its military accomplishments, though it is not always possible to say with certainty that it is telling the truth about those accomplishment

In 2017, the Islamic Republic claimed to have unveiled a domestically manufactured tank which “has the capability to fire missiles and precisely guide them."

Previously, Iran's Revolutionary Guard claimed it had successfully tested a Hormuz 2-type ballistic missile.

Iran has also claimed it is in possession of the “father of all bombs”, described as a domestically-made 10-ton bomb with a high destructive power.

Last month, a senior Iranian military official announced the production of a new model of drones intended to be used by the offensive infantry, rapid intervention units and intelligence units.