Posted on 04/04/2006 10:04:02 PM PDT by demlosers
TEHERAN: Iran successfully tested a "super-modern flying boat" yesterday and the land-to-sea Kowsar missile that military analysts say is designed to sink ships in the Gulf, state media reported.
The tests came in the middle of the country's Gulf war games that started on Friday. State radio said the Kowsar could evade radar and that its guidance system could not be scrambled.
The Defence Ministry was not immediately able to give details of a "flying boat" that was shown on television. The small propeller-driven aircraft floated on a trimaran hull until it took off and flew low over the surface of the water. State television said it could reach speeds of 100 knots.
"A super-modern flying boat was successfully tested in the 'Great Prophet' war game in Persian Gulf waters," state television said.
"Because of its hull's advanced design, no radar at sea or in the air can locate it. It can lift out of the water. It is wholly domestically built and can launch missiles with precise targeting while moving."
The military exercise is being held as pressure from the West, especially from the United States, rises on its nuclear programme.
Iran's military technology might not be highly advanced, but analysts say Iran would not need much know-how to cause chaos in vital oil shipping channels.
They say Iran could be testing arms in the Strait of Hormuz, a key tanker nexus, to dissuade Israel and the United States from taking military action against nuclear-power sites.
The United States said it was possible Iran had developed weapons that could evade sonar and radar but warned the Islamic Republic had a tendency to "boast and exaggerate."
Earlier in the war games, Iran said it had tested a radar-evading rocket and the Hoot (whale) underwater missile which could outpace any enemy warship.
On Monday, Iran's Revolutionary Guard test-fired a torpedo it said was being mass-produced in Iran.
"With intelligent missile terminals, Iran is capable of confronting any assaults from forces outside the region," the official IRNA news agency quoted Revolutionary Guards Commander-in-Chief Yahya Rahim as saying.
Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki dismissed the West's concerns about developments in Iran's missile capabilities. "Iran has never attacked any country. Our military doctrine is defensive doctrine," he told reporters.
Source: China Daily
I thought it was a UFO. ;)
Hmmm, looks like a little skeet shooting in our future
I remember seeing something like this from the Russians years ago. Looks the same to me.
LoL!
ROFLMAO
Some american inventor marketed the same "ground effect phenomenon" craft.
The russian was the "autophlan" or something like that.
They're threatening us with the Fantasticar?
WOW, maybe we should have these smart Iranians start designing our weapons systems for us?
I wonder if this "super modern flying boat" is faster than a deck gun shell, missile or a phalanx gun?
That is....just....wow. LOL.
First a super-missile, then a super-torpedo, now a "super-modern flying boat."
The Iranians are starting to resemble a James Bond villain.
Next thing you know, they'll be deploying sharks with frickin' laser beams attached to their heads. Be afraid.
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