TEHRAN, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) -- Iran will launch a large-scale air defense exercise in the country's southern regions on Monday, reported Tasnim news agency on Sunday.
Iran's Air Defense Commander Brig. Gen. Farzad Esmaili said that the drill, code-named "Defenders of Velayat Skies 7," will cover the southern provinces of Hormozgan and Bushehr along with the southwestern province of Khuzestan.
According to the official IRNA news agency, Esmaili also said that "the drill will be held for three days in an area covering 496,000 km ... and F-4 fighter jets and S300 defense missile systems will be test-fired during the exercise."
Participants in the drill include the Air defense forces of both the Iranian army and the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), navy support units, the army and IRGC's ground forces artillery units, he said.
The military exercise features considerable volumes of artillery and missile practices as passenger planes simultaneously fly overhead, he was quoted as saying.
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