Iran has introduced the latest Bavar-373 long-range anti-aircraft missile system (SAM), said on the website of President Hassan Rouhani. The presentation took place on August 22, the Day of National Defense Industry.

The report emphasizes that the Bavar-373 is an "advanced and unique" weapon of the Islamic Republic. Hassan Rouhani believes that the latest air defense system surpasses the Russian S-300 Favorit complex and is close in capabilities to the S-400 Triumph, which is supplied to the Russian army and is in demand abroad (China, Turkey and India have already concluded supply contracts )

Since 2016, Iran has been armed with four S-300PMU-2 long-range air defense divisions. The complexes were sold to the Islamic Republic after, in 2015, Russian President Vladimir Putin canceled the previously imposed embargo on their supply. S-300PMU-2 covers strategically important facilities in Tehran, Bandar Abbas, Isfahan and Bushehr.

"Symbol of faith"

Tehran announced the launch of its own long-range anti-aircraft complex in 2010. A year later, Iranian engineers created the first prototype. The name SAM in translation from Farsi means “Creed”.

The Iranian Defense Ministry has set a very ambitious goal for the developers - the new complex should surpass the S-300 in terms of characteristics.

  • Launcher of the Russian S-300 air defense system in Iran
  • AFP
  • © ATTA KENARE

“An alternative S-300 missile defense system is being manufactured, part of the work has already been completed, and good results have been achieved so far,” said General Ahmad Wahidi, who was then Iran’s Minister of Defense.

The vehicles of the complex are made on the chassis of the Zafar truck and on the Zoljanah platform, which is capable of crossing a ford up to 0.8 m deep.

The Bavar-373 includes several launchers (two or four missiles each), a radar (radar) detection, tracking radar and command vehicle. Sayyad-4 ground-to-air missiles are used for firing.

In October 2016, Iranian Air Force Commander General Farzad Ismaily said that the Bavar-373 is superior to the S-300 "one and a half times." At present, the air defense system is in the final stages of testing.

In an interview with RT, an employee of the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, Sergei Denisentsev, noted that it is common for officials of the Islamic republic to give exaggerated assessments of the capabilities of their weapons. At the same time, the expert does not exclude that Iranian engineers managed to achieve quite serious progress in the field of air defense.

“Iran does not specify what kind of modification it has in mind when it makes comparisons. Let me remind you that the first versions of the “Favorite” were adopted by the USSR in the second half of the 1970s, and the modification of the PMU-2, which Iran received from Russia, is a modern and effective air defense system, ”Denisentsev explained.

According to the expert, if Tehran has in mind the superiority of the Bavar-373 over the S-300PMU-2, then this fact indicates the high technological level of the Iranian defense industry. However, the expert doubts that the Islamic Republic really managed to create a more effective complex.

“Tehran could well have developed a decent model of long-range air defense. The Bavar-373 is hardly better than the S-300-PMU2, but can surpass the late Soviet modifications of the S-300. Iran has demonstrated that it has learned to survive in conditions of prolonged isolation, learn other people's experience and create its own weapons, ”says Denisentsev.

According to the Fars Iranian agency, the country's defense industry has achieved impressive results when developing the Bavar-373. The specialists of the Islamic Republic were able to create launch containers and radar-proof equipment that are resistant to temperature overloads and are capable of detecting all types of targets, including invisible aircraft.

The important advantages of the Bavar-373 agency Fars calls the noise immunity of air defense systems and national production software. With reference to the Ministry of Defense, the publication emphasizes that the on-board systems of the anti-aircraft complex are protected from outside interference. Information transfer between Bavar-373 elements is carried out through secure channels.

  • Bavar-373 launcher and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani
  • AFP
  • © HO / IRANIAN PRESIDENCY

The Iranian air defense system is capable of detecting targets at ranges of up to 320 km, and intercepting at distances of up to 200 km and at an altitude of up to 27 km. Radar can fix up to 300 targets and accompany 60 air objects. The maximum number of simultaneously fired targets is 6.

The rocket is launched at the moment when the transport and launch container is in a vertical position. As noted by Fars, this method is the most progressive. Interceptor missiles are equipped with a thrust vector control system, which gives them high maneuverability.

“The most important thing in the air defense system is radar stations and electronics. For example, modern anti-aircraft systems use an active phased antenna array (AFAR). As far as I understand, the Bavar-373 has it, but the quality of its components is difficult to assess now, ”said Denisentsev.

The expert suggests that in the process of developing radar equipment and various electronic components, Iran could receive assistance from China. At the same time, the industry of the Islamic republic independently made the chassis, auxiliary equipment and power generators, Denisentsev is sure.

Incentive for development

According to the Iranian Ministry of Defense, in the republic since 2016, a three-tier air defense system has been operating. It includes anti-aircraft systems of short, medium and long range. In recent years, Tehran has repeatedly emphasized that it does not feel the need to purchase S-300 and S-400.

In an interview with RT, military expert Yuri Lyamin said that an air defense system has been formed in Iran, but it does not cover the whole country. The current state of affairs does not allow reliably protecting the republic from air attacks. However, Tehran is going to level this problem, first of all, due to its own air defense systems, including Bavar-373, the analyst believes.

“Without long-range complexes, Iran cannot cover the vast territory of the country. In my opinion, the Bavar-373 is superior to the first modifications of the S-300. This is evident by the tactical and technical characteristics that are published in the media. To date, the Bavar-373 is actively being mastered in the troops. Based on this, it can be judged that the task assigned to the Iranian industry has been completed in general, ”Lyamin emphasized.

The expert positively assesses the results that the Iranian industry in the field of air defense has demonstrated. According to Lyamin, investments in the defense sector are bringing tangible results. The increased potential of the national air defense system is testified by the American drone RQ-4A BAMS-D shot down in June this year, the expert points out.

A similar point of view is shared by the founder of the portal Military Russia Dmitry Kornev. In an interview with RT, the expert noted that Iran has made the most progress in the development of radar equipment.

“I do not think that Iran has completely got rid of technological dependence on Russia and China, but serious positive changes in the defense sector of this country are evident. The incentive for the development of the air defense system of the Islamic Republic is the threat of an air attack from the United States and Israel. Iran is unlikely to be able to repulse a truly large-scale attack, but it seems to me obvious that Tehran’s adversary will suffer significant losses, ”Kornev summed up.