Iran Tests First Long-Range Missile Defence System ‘Bavar-373’

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards tested the country’s first ever long-range missile defence system early this week, local media reports.

Work on the new Bavar 373 system is underway and is expected to be fully functional by March 2018, Farzad Esmaili, head of the Revolutionary Guards’ air defences, told IRIB in an interview on Sunday.

The Bavar 373 was created after construction on the S-300 was brought to a halt. It is designed to intercept long range, or ballistic weaponry.

“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,” Esmaili said.

The Bavar-373 is a long-range mobile air defense system which was unveiled in August 2016. It is similar to the Russian S-300 and is capable of hitting targets at a high altitude. The new system uses a phased array radar like Russian 96L6 radar for tracking aerodynamic targets and ballistic missiles in medium to long ranges, mounted on the ZAFAR heavy truck.