Iran tested its home-grown air defence system

Head of the Revolutionary Guards' air defence, Farzad Esmaili has said Iran has tested its home-grown air defence system, designed to match the Russian S-300. “In parallel with the deployment of the S-300, work on Bavar-373 system is underway.”

The system is made completely in Iran and some of its parts are different from the S-300. All of its sub-systems have been completed and its missile tests have been conducted.” Bavar meaning "belief" and 373 which is the Abjad number of prophet Muhammad's name, is Tehran's first long-range missile defence system, and is set to be operational by March 2018, he added.

In 2010, Iran began manufacturing Bavar-373 after the purchase of the S-300 from Russia was suspended due to international sanctions.

Russia resumed the sale following the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers which lifted sanctions, and Iran's S-300 defence system became operational in March.

History of development

In November 22, 2011, the first prototype was built. Iran announced that the system was designed and built by defense ministry, domestic industries and some Iranian universities. Esmaieli said that Iran doesn't even think about S-300 anymore as Bavar-373 was much more capable. Iranian sources suggest that the Bavar 373 will be mobile, with four missiles loaded on each mobile truck launcher.

The Iranian defense ministry is due to equip the country's Armed Forces with a new long-range air-defense system by March 21, 2013, a senior Iranian military official announced on Saturday August 25, 2012. On 3 September 2012, Farzad Esmaili said that the development of the system was now 30 percent complete. On 1 January 2013, the same commander announced that the sub-systems of the homemade air-defense system are being tested in laboratory.

Esmaili updated his estimate in February 2014 and said the system would be ready by the end of 2015. On August 21, 2016 Iran revealed components of long awaited Bavar-373. According to Janes international: "Bavar-373 displayed on 21 August is clearly a unique Iranian system that appears to reflect extensive investment in its ability to develop phased array radars".  The system shows vertical, rectangular launch canister with details suggesting a hot launch system (unlike cold launch used in system such as S-300).

Components of defense system

In April 2015, Iran unveiled some of Bavar's subsystems, which include the Fakour commanding and smart control system which has the ability to collect information from all sources relevant to air defense, including passive and active military radars (such as the Mersad), signal surveillance, missile systems and commanding and control systems.

The Rasoul advanced communications system is for encoding information, connecting the country’s infrastructure and transferring radar information from the battle scene to commanding centers.

Bavar-373 will utilize Sayyad-4 missile, which are contained in two rectangular launch canisters. No formal information was given about this missile but it appears from news photos that Sayyad-4 is similar to Sayyad-3 in wings and control surfaces; however it varies lightly in frontal shape.

The canisters containing the Sayyad-4 missiles are to be carried on the Zoljanah 10×10 truck.

Bavar-373 uses phased array radar for tracking aerodynamic targets and ballistic missiles in medium to long ranges, mounted on the ZAFAR heavy truck. One of the radars used in Bavar-373 is Meraj (Ascension), a phased array radar with range of 450 km which uses fuzzy logic techniques to spot targets. Meraj can track up to 200 targets simultaneously.

Pakistan saw any strategic development in his neighboring countries with suspicion. Iran has warned several times that it would target militant hideouts inside Pakistan if Islamabad doesn't act against Sunni jihadists. Pakistan's other two neighbors - Afghanistan and India - also accuse Islamabad of backing terrorists. So this new development would worrying Pakistan very much.