Iran’s navy on Saturday unveiled its first-ever advanced defence system for its warships. The destroyer of the Iranian Navy was first equipped with a domestically-made ship-to-air missile system designed to combat anti-ship missiles, semi-official Tasnim reported Saturday.

Navy Rear Admiral Hossein Khanzadi told reporters in Tehran the domestically made Kamand system would protect Iran’s naval destroyers against anti-ship cruise missiles.

In remarks carried by the Tasnim news agency, Khanzadi said the Kamand system was based on the American-made Phalanx CIWS, and could destroy any target up to 2 kilometres away with a firing rate of 4,000 to 7,000 rounds per minute.

Khanzadi noted that the system would now be installed on ships that conduct operations far from the coast.