Author: Philosopher
Category: Air defence
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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.
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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]
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Sayyad-4 missile[3]
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Sayyad-4 during manufacturing stage.[3]
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Thrust vector jet vanes will be inserted here.[3]
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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]
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The boxed vertical launch systems of the Bavar-373.
The Bavar-373 TEL uses the Iranian made "Zoljanah" 10x10 truck [5]:
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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]
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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]
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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]
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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:
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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
