Defense Industries Organization
 |
|
|
Native name
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Persian: سازمان صنایع دفاع جمهوری اسلامی ایران |
|---|---|
| State-owned company | |
| Industry | defense |
| Founded | 1981 |
| Headquarters | Tehran, Iran |
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Area served
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Arab world |
| Products |
Munitions Small arms Artillery Explosive Combat vehicle Naval vessels Civil and military aerospace Defence electronics |
| Owner | Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (100%) |
|
Number of employees
|
>35,000 |
| Subsidiaries | Marine Industries Organization Iran Aviation Industries Organization Aerospace Industries Organization Iran Electronics Industries |
The Defense Industries Organization (DIO) is a conglomerate of companies run by the Islamic Republic of Iran whose function is to provide the military of Iran with the necessary manufacturing capacity and technical abilities. In recent years, the DIO has attempted to become export-oriented, allowing Iran to become an exporter of weapons. According to Iranian officials, the country sold $100 million worth of military equipment in 2003 and as of 2006 had exported weapons to 57 countries.
Prior to 1963, the Iranian military industry consisted of a number of independent factories. Iran's military industry was born under the last Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. In 1973, the Iran Electronics Industries (IEI) was founded to organize efforts to assemble and repair foreign-delivered weapons. Most of Iran's weapons before the Islamic revolution were imported from the United States and Europe. Between 1971 and 1975, the Shah went on a buying spree, ordering $8 billion in weapons from the United States alone. This alarmed many in the U.S., which strengthened a 1968 law on arms exports in 1976 and renamed it the Arms Export Control Act. Still, the United States continued to sell large amounts of weapons to Iran until the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
In an early effort to overhaul Iran's military capabilities, Mohammad Reza Shah ordered the creation of the Military Industries Organization (MIO). Operating as a branch of the Ministry of War, the MIO was to oversee all military production within Iran. Over the next fifteen years, military plants produced small arms ammunition, batteries, tires, copper products, explosives, and mortar rounds and fuses. They also produced rifles and machine guns under license from West Germany. In addition, helicopters, jeeps, trucks, and trailers were assembled from imported kits in attempts to transfer technical knowledge to Iran. Additionally, the organization was charged with research and development and took the initiative in reverse engineering a number of Soviet RPG-7, BM21, and SAM-7 missiles in 1979.[2]
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Wikipedia