Iran claims to have new air defense system

Iran said Sunday that it had unveiled a new domestically produced air defense system, called the Khordad 15 and inaugurated by Defense Minister Amir Hatami. It is named for a protest in 1963 against the arrest of Ayatollah Khomeini.

This is the latest in a series of local Iranian military endeavors, including new ships, missiles and drones that the country boasts to have built. The new defense system supposedly can intercept up to six “incoming hostile targets simultaneously,” according to Iranian state media.

Hatami said the system can detect targets up to 85 km. away and hit them at distances up to 45 km. It uses a Sayyad 3 missile, Press TV reported. According to Tasnim News, it is under the command of Alireza Sabahifard, head of Iran’s air defense systems. Iran previously was using a system linked to the S-200, which is antiquated but which Iran upgraded in 2013.

Iran’s Sayyad 3 is built upon the foundations of previous surface to air missiles. According to reports it has a range up to 200km. It also has another locally designed system called Bavar 373 which is a mobile air defense system similar to the S-300.
The degree to which any of these systems is effective is unclear. They have not been tested in conflict, unlike Iran’s ballistic missile program, which is precise and advanced and has been used to strike targets in Syria and Iraq. Iran is likely behind the technological advances of the Houthi rebels in Yemen, whose missiles have been fired at Saudi Arabia. Iran has unveiled this system amid tensions with the US, clearly to send a message about any upcoming conflict.

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