Featured Iranian Bavar-373 long range air defence system- A quantum leap in Iran's air defence capability

[Cthulhu]

We intentionally decided to not make SAMs decades ago

Why?

 

[LeGenD]

Well-constructed and meaningful article. Credit where due.

Bistatic engagement principles sound great in theory and a number of Russian defense systems have this capability including the S-400 system.

They do not work as advertised: https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/30100/no-passive-radar-isnt-stealth-ending-magic-people

- not against the type of threats such as F-22A and F-35 variants - these not only have VLO class frame across several bands, they are jam-packed with numerous types of countermeasures and capabilities of their own. Should not mistake these for static test objects.

Israel have shown as much in Syria.

 

[Philosopher]

Well-constructed and meaningful article. Credit where due.

Bistatic engagement principles sound great in theory and a number of Russian defense systems have this capability including the S-400 system.

They do not work as advertised: https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/30100/no-passive-radar-isnt-stealth-ending-magic-people

- not against the type of threats such as F-22A and F-35 variants - these not only have VLO class frame, they are jam-packed with numerous types of countermeasures and capabilities of their own. Should not mistake these for static test objects.

Israel have shown as much in Syria.

I am happy you found it a good read dear Legend. Thank you for your comment, I think it is very important we try and see all sides to these technologies. I am confident going forward new solutions will be implemented in Bavar and when I get more information in this regard, I will be sure to update this thread.

 

[LeGenD]

I am happy you found it a good read dear Legend. Thank you for your comment, I think it is very important we try and see all sides to these technologies. I am confident going forward new solutions will be implemented in Bavar and when I get more information in this regard, I will be sure to update this thread.

I have issued a 'positive rating' to you just now. Beautifully written article - deserve more than a like.

Yes, I wholeheartedly agree with your perspective: something better than nothing is a philosophy in itself.

Don't get me wrong; this is a BIG LEAP for Iran, and numerous countries should learn from this development. Credit where due.

----

There is one radar system which hold promise against stealth (LO category); it is a fusion of UHF band with another. A true breakthrough in radar technology in years. No assurance for VLO category though.

Let us see what capabilities the emerging Quantum types will offer in the FUTURE - these are still many years away from becoming mature.

Fingers crossed till then.

 

[Philosopher]

I have issued a 'positive rating' to you just now. Beautifully written article - deserve more than a like.

Yes, I wholeheartedly agree with your perspective: something better than nothing is a philosophy in itself.

Don't get me wrong; this is a BIG LEAP for Iran, and numerous countries should learn from this development. Credit where due.

----

Thank you brother. I always respect your well thought out and researched opinions.

Let us see what capabilities the emerging Quantum types will offer in the FUTURE - these are still many years away from becoming mature.

These quantum radar systems are something else all together. Incredible technologies based on sciences that are far from intuitive. I am really looking forward towards these new technologies, exciting times ahead.

 

[Trango Towers]

Well necessity is the mother of inventions.
I am pleased for iran. I wish the arabs and pakistan do the same and not fight each other

 

[Muhammed45]

Im sure that Pakistan can do it too. As a Catalyst We can provide Pakistan with TOT. Since developing these systems takes time and effort.

Even the Arab countries if had any independent Policy from USA, we can Make them safe from Foreign threats. USA is not the whole World and NATO is not something to be afraid of. We are people of Islam and Quran,

 

[S.U.R.B.]

Seems like a very capable defence system against 4/4.5 generation aircrafts.
Being home grown beats everything.
Congratulations to Iran's military and nation.

the slogan of "Ma mitavanim", which translates to "We can do it".

Yes, you did achieve it.Now there is platform available on ground that can always be more perfected and developed to be lethal enough to ruin the sleep of your enemies.

 

[Philosopher]

Seems like a very capable defence system against 4/4.5 generation aircrafts.
Being home grown beats everything.
Congratulations to Iran's military and nation.


Yes, you did achieve it.Now there is platform available on ground that can always be more perfected and developed to be lethal enough to ruin the sleep of your enemies.

Great comment

 

[[--Leo--]]

We intentionally decided to not make SAMs decades ago

At least make a radar and establish a facility of R&D in future if we want to then we can develop such tech

 

[Great Janjua]

Iran please send this system over so we can test it

 

[RAMPAGE]

The cost has not been stated directly but they have stated it is cheaper than the S-300 series.



Yes it is indigenous.



It is better than the S-300 series, but inferior to the S-400.



I do not have any sources to suggest this. Hopefully once the arms embargo is lifted, we will see much more cooperation between Iran and our Pakistani brothers in the air defence field (and military in general).



You're welcome. I hope you found it a good read.

Iranians are our immediate family, but we will only be able to cooperate after the secularization of Iran and Pakistan. Iran has to undergo a greater degree of secularization than Pakistan, I think.

Otherwise, the trust deficit we see now will remain.

 

[jupiter2007]

Author: Philosopher
Category: Air defence

View attachment 639749

In 2007, an Iran with a very limited air defence network signed a contract with the Russians for the S-300 air defence system to help protect its air space from a potential airstrike. That deal ended up being embroiled in the tense political environment of that time and as a consequence, Iran did not receive that system (and would not until 2016).

Iran decided to embark upon a very difficult endeavor of designing its own long range air defence system called the Bavar-373 (meaning Belief-373). The start of the Bavar-373 projects was initiated with the slogan of "Ma mitavanim", which translates to "We can do it".

The development of this systems involved a great learning path, during which Iran produced multiple long range air defence systems, namely the 3rd of Khordad (which downed the American RQ-4) and 15th of Khordad.[1,2] In 2019, after more than 10 years in development, the wholly indigenous Iranian Bavar-373 became ready for production. In this thread, we will go over its capabilities.

Test Firing of the Bavar-373​

Overall specifications of the Bavar-373 system[3]:
​

Maximum detection range: 320 km
Maximum tracking range: 260 km
Maximum engagement range: 200 km
Maximum engagement altitude: 27 km
Simultaneously detected targets: 300
Simultaneously tracked targets: 60
Simultaneously engaged targets: 6
Simultaneously guided missiles: 12
Maximum missiles per battery: 24

A battery of Bavar-373 includes 1 Acquisition radar, 1 engagement radar, 1 command and control, 6 TEL (each with 4 missiles) for a total of 24 missiles ready to fire.

View attachment 639803
A battery of Bavar-373 missile defence system[4]

Now, to go into more specific details regarding this system.

Missiles:​

Bavar 373 utilises a missile called Sayyad-4. This missiles incorporates Trust Vector Control (TVS) and has a range of 200km and maximum engagement altitude of 27-30km.[3] The maximum speed of the missile is not known, however, it is capable of dealing with air targets flying at speeds up to 2800 meter/second ( around Mach 8). This missile has the ability (albeit limited) to also target ballistic missiles during their terminal phase.[3]

The missile is believed to be guided via Semi-Active seeker utilising Track Via Missiles (TVM) or Seeker Aided Ground Guidance (SAGG). The use of such a system over an active seeker provides the benefit of 1) Extra protection against jamming 2) Better capability against stealthy targets.[5]

View attachment 639808
Sayyad-4 missile[3]

View attachment 639807
Sayyad-4 during manufacturing stage.[3]


View attachment 639805
Thrust vector jet vanes will be inserted here.[3]

View attachment 639804
Sayyad-4 Trust vectoring during flight.[3]

Launch platform:​

Bavar-373 uses the hot-launch method, where the missile engines are ignited whilst the missile is still inside the container tubes, as opposed to a cold launched systems where ignition is formed post gas instrumented ejection from the tube (such as in the S-300/400 series).[3]

View attachment 639757
View attachment 639782
The boxed vertical launch systems of the Bavar-373.


The Bavar-373 TEL uses the Iranian made "Zoljanah" 10x10 truck [5]:

View attachment 639784

View attachment 639785
Zoljanah 10x10 TEL[5]

Radar Systems


X-Band AESA radar
​

One of the radar systems used in the Bavar-373 is the X-Band AESA engagement radar. This radar is comprised of over 10,000 Transmit/Receive Modules (TRM). It has an engagement range of 200km and can direct 12 missiles to 6 targets simultaneously.[3]

View attachment 639792
On the left: The X-band AESA engagement radar.[2]

What is interesting about this radar system is its rather "3D" configuration. Although not officially confirmed, these angled potential subarrays seen below in Yellow could be part of a constructive wave interference method leading to increased power gain and range. Other possibilities for what they could be include: Side Lobe Cancelling (SLC) or data links.[5]

View attachment 639793
Bavar's X-band radar array, with main components highlighted. Main array in Red, possible sub-arrays in Yellow, and Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) array in Blue.[5]

S-Band AESA Radar
​

This S-band AESA radar can detect 300 targets at a range of 320km and can track up to 60 targets at a range of 260km.[3]


View attachment 639797
View attachment 639798
View attachment 639795
S-Band radar, the main array on the bottom and top portion is the Identification Friend or Foe (IFF)[3]

The TEL used for both of these radars is the Iranian Zafar 8x8 truck, shown below during its tests:

View attachment 639831
Zafar 8x8[5]

How will Bavar-373 deal with stealthly targets?

​

The article below highlights very nicely how Bavar-373, using TVM/SAGG and bi-static radar arrangement methodology will deal with stealthy targets, such as F-22.[5]

The significance of Bavar-373​

Bavar-373 marked a new chapter in the development of Iranian air defence solutions. It is important to note that this system is not solitary but one that will work within the context of an integrated air defence network utilising radars with ranges far beyond those used in Bavar-373 proper. For example, an auxiliary radar system that will be used in a Bavar battalion will be the Meraj-4 linear S-band linear AESA radar with a 450-500km range.[6,7] The future improvements of the Bavar will naturally turn it into an even more capable system. More on this to come in the coming years.

Although the purpose of this thread is not to do a comparison between this system and comparable foreign air defences, it is important to note that Bavar puts Iran amongst only a handful of nations which have such complex land based air defence systems that possess such a capability. Perhaps most importantly, the development of Bavar showed that a nation can develop such a systems by itself if it has the belief; as demonstrated by Iran's Ma Mitavanim (we can do it) slogan which in the end turned into Ma Tavanestim (we did it).


I would like to thank @AmirPatriot for his article at Irangeomil and @PeeD for their great contribution to the compilation of the Bavar-373 data via OSINT gathering. Without their effort, this article would have been nigh impossible.

References:

[1] https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/...khordad-3-air-defense-missile-downed-us-drone
[2] https://en.mehrnews.com/photo/146222/15th-of-Khordad-air-defense-system-unveiled
[3] https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9I53NcfXag
[4] https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/iran/bavar-373.htm
[5] https://irangeomil.blogspot.com/2019/08/irans-bavar-373-profile.html
[6] https://www.mashreghnews.ir/news/363390/آشنایی-با-3-سامانه-پدافندی-که-ایران-به-جای-اس-300-رونمایی-کرد
[7] https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/...y-commander-lauds-iranian-air-defense-systems

Pakistan can always buy HQ-9B or HQ-9C (under development) from China but home grown system will be cheaper and it will help developed local defence industry.
Pakistan needs something like BAVAR-373, a Cross between Russian S-300 and American Patriot systems with Chinese based radar technology, for medium to high range air defense system.

 

[volatile]

Barter with JF17 squadron

 

[Salman876]

Iran is able to develop because they have US as enemy. OTH, our enemy is not advanced yet, that is why, we don't develop such advanced systems. Necessity is the mother, father of invention.