woooow. the containers of Sayyad _ 4 missiles in the Bavar 373 system are small for them.
Bavar 373 air defense system on the left poster loaded with its Sayyad _ 4 missiles.
Those Sayyad-4 probably just stick out of the container for testing purposes. Early testing usual takes place with a direct radar lock of the seeker on the target, only later on development the lock-on after launch feature becomes available.
So they probably just used a dated photo there.
As for the Ya-Zahra/Crotale on Mercedes trucks: I wonder why they still stick to the Crotale design.
I must say this designs offers some fundamental benefits that might even enable it to compete with the Pantsir or its claimed Iranian variation: Why?
- The truck on which it is based is cheap in overall system price and very reliable/low maintenance.
- It lacks a own search radar, so it remains passive up to attack or can use optical guidance.
- Pantsir can also remain passive if a higher IADS asset or another Pantsir is networked but each system costs more due to the own search radar.
- The advanced PESA radar of the Pantsir can engage 4 targets but is potentially much more expensive.
- If we assume that 4 Crotale are equivalent to a Pantsir in guidance channels and missiles carried, there is space for a realistic question whether 4 Ya-Zahra with its solid state mechanical antenna radar and miniaturized systems is not still cheaper. The PESA radar and the independent search radar for each vehicle are high cost items.
- A inherit feature of the Ya-Zahra would then of course be survivability: 4 fully automatic unmanned launchers which are operating passively, represent a significant increase in the ability of the system to take punishment.
- The Pantsir can only attack 4 targets coming from a 90° sector and has always just one optical channel for passive operation. The Crotale on the other hand offers 4 independent optical channels if we assume the 4 launcher = 1 Pantsir scenario.
- Its true that the Pantsir has also AAA, but AAA is also a must for the Ya-Zahra to take out targets that are not worth a missile such as slow moving drones.
- At least since the presentation of the Seraj AAA search optronic system we can expect that open radar emissions can be effectively avoided for such short range systems. A Seraj search optronic, 4 Ya-Zahra unmanned launchers, 2 Mesbah-2 AAA and a control post connected to upper IADS assets could in total still be cheaper than a single Pantsir, operate completely passively, be mobile and much more difficult to kill.
So at least if the goal is not the protection of moving mechanized formations, a serious cost-effect assessment may prove a 2019 Crotale based sytem to be the better choice.
A good example for the dynamics such complex topics can create.