Iran has tested its home grown air defence system, designed to match the Russian S-300, the head of the Revolutionary Guards' air defence has said
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Iranian Defence Minister Hossein Dehghan standing next to the new Bavar 373 missile defence system in 2016. Pic/AFP
Iran has tested its home grown air defence system, designed to match the Russian S-300, the head of the Revolutionary Guards' air defence has said.
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"In parallel with the deployment of the S-300, work on Bavar-373 system is underway," Farzad Esmaili told state broadcaster IRIB late Saturday. "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 (which means "belief") is Tehran's first long-range missile defence system, and is set to be operational by March 2018, he added. On Sunday, state television aired the first footage from a "secret" drone base in an undisclosed desert location, where dozens of different types of unmanned aircraft were lined up.
"If necessary, a great number of Iran's high-speed eagles (drones) will land on the enemy," Esmaili said in the footage. Iran has developed several military drones in recent years, drawing criticism from Washington. 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.
2010
The year Iran began manufacturing the Bavar-373
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