A senior Iranian commander has praised the Air Defense Force’s achievements over the
past years, saying the country, a pioneer in the technology of directed energy, is today
capable of targeting micro air vehicles (MAVs) that violate its airspace.
In an interview with ISNA news agency on Wednesday, First Brigadier General Mehdi Saqafifard,
the deputy head of the planning department of Khatam Al-Anbia Air Defense Base, said
the Air Defense Force has become self-reliant and rendered ineffective the sanctions imposed
on the country by the West.
Prior to the 1979 Islamic Revolution, he said, Iran was only able to detect flying objects
from a distance of 380 kilometers using Western-supplied equipment.
Today, however, the country has been finalizing projects that enable the Air Force to intercept
targets within a distance of up to 3,000 kilometers, said the commander, adding that the Air Force
units operate radars that have a detection radius of 800 kilometers.
Saqafifard also said that the number of radar platforms has increased by about 400 times
in the country, compared to the time before the Revolution.
Radars have had their technology upgraded from old interception systems to hybrid mode,
he said, noting that radars are currently equipped with optical and sound-detection
sensors, and other types of sensors that cannot be mentioned.
“At a low anti-cruise altitude, we have at least five to six projects that are between
the testing and operational phases, including Majid, Nawab, Zubin and Dezful systems,”
he said.
“After 10 years of endeavor in the field of directed energy, we have been able to reach
a point that the countries possessing this technology claim to be standing at.
Directed energy means that we can get rid of the MAVs intruding into our skies.
That means hitting a $900,000 cruise missile at a cost of only $10,” he explained.
The commander also pointed to the progress that the Air Defense Force has made regarding
electronic warfare.
“In the field of electronic warfare, we have reached a point that the world does not
believe,” he said.
Following the non-delivery of Russia’s S-300 missile defense system, Iran managed to manufacture
Bavar-373 with the guidance of Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei
and efforts of the Defense Ministry knowledge-based companies, Saqafifard said.
“Today, the Bavar-373 strategic system has nothing less than the S-300, and in some areas
it is even more advanced.
In the near future, we will hear good news from this system to break the record and reach
the levels of the next system, the S-400.”
The IRGC noted that the great strides Iran's defense industry has made over the years in
terms of land, maritime and aerospace technologies have turned the Islamic Republic into the
undisputed power of the region and put it on the same level as trans-regional powers.
The defense industry and its resilience in the face of foreign pressure also provide
great examples for the country's economy and industry, the statement added.
The IRGC's downing of an intruding US spy drone over the Persian Gulf last month and
its legal seizure of a British tanker in the Persian Gulf also attested to the Iranian
defense industry's strategic role.
PressTV-Leader thanked IRGC for tackling US drone, UK tanker: Rep
The Iranian defense industry's effect could also be traced in various aspects of the regional
Islamic resistance movements against proxies and terror groups, it said.
Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Hossein Khanzadi also marked the occasion in a statement,
saying that Iran, unlike some other countries in the Middle East region, enjoyed great security
thanks to its defense industry.
"We live in a country that enjoys a very high level of security despite all the threats
and hostilities by the global arrogance and its regional cronies," Admiral Khanzadi said.
The commander said Iran, because of its access to open waters and its geopolitical situation,
played a significant role in global security.
Deputy Defense Minister Brigadier General Hojjatollah Ghoreishi also said Wednesday
that Iran's Army was also slated to unveil the Bavar-373 advanced surface-to-air missile
system on Thursday.
The Bavar-373 is a mobile missile defense system designed to intercept and destroy incoming
targets flying at altitudes of up to 65 kilometers.
The system employs missiles that have a maximum range of 300 kilometers.
General Ghoreishi said the missile is a rival to Russia’s S-300 missile system and brings
quite a few substantial upgrades over its Russian equivalent.