Quds Force's Technical Department (Unit 340) is responsible for R&D. As part of its function, it provides know-how and equipment to Iran's proxies, including Hezbollah, PIJ, the Iraqi militias, and the Houthis in Yemen.

The department focuses on technological weapons projects, particularly involving SSM and SSR. Iran’s goal is to help the proxies operating under its auspices to achieve indigenous production capabilities.

To this end, the Technical Department is in contact with production and research elements in the Iranian industries and academia on a regular basis. The Department is headed by Hamid Fazeli, and is directly subordinate to the Quds Force commander.

 The Department's activity

Most of the Department employees are technical experts, specializing mainly in engineering.  Some the facilities used by the Technical Department for production, research, training, and testing, are in the heart of Tehran. 

The Department also works via representations that support the buildup efforts of  Iran's proxy forces.

In the coming weeks, we will expose some of the Department's recent developments.

First project: Heavy rockets

One of the Technical Department's developments involves heavy rockets. These rockets carry more explosives and are intended to cause greater damage. The department develops rockets of various ranges, including:

The Nafi rocket, also known as the Badr-3, a long-range rocket with a 400 kg warhead. 

The Jihad rocket, 17 inch in diameter, with a range of less than 20 km and a 400 kg warhead.

In addition to developing rockets,Unit 340 also provides its proxy elements with training in Iran on producing and launching rockets. This training is carried out at the Semnan firing range and the Shahid Shaabani training site (Badindeh).