Iran to unveil new variant of Bavar-373 missile air defense system to outperform S-400
According to Tasnim agency, Iran is going to unveil the newest version of its homegrown missile defense system ‘Bavar-373’ which outperforms the Russian-made S-400 anti-aircraft weapon system, an Iranian general said.
In comments at a televised interview on Sunday 22 August, a former head of the Iranian Defense Ministry’s Aerospace Organization said local experts are developing a new generation of Bavar-373 which will be unveiled soon. It claims to have capabilities that outperform the Russian-made S-400, Brigadier General Mahdi Farahi added. The general highlighted the Islamic Republic’s advances in missile production, saying the country has made a special liquid fuel for missiles that is as durable as solid fuels, allowing the projectiles to be stored for longer periods of time.
Iran unveiled Bavar-373 in August 2019. Bavar-373 (Bavar meaning Belief and 373 being Abjad for Messenger of Allah) is a long-range road-mobile surface-to-air missile system unveiled in August 2016. Iran describes it as a competitor with the S-300 missile system. It is manufactured by the Iranian Defence Ministry in cooperation with unspecified local manufacturers and universities.
Bavar has an S-band acquisition radar for detection and a (shorter-range) X-Band fire control radar for missile guidance. Both are Active Electronically Scanned Array radars. Bavar has an S-band acquisition radar for detection and a (shorter-range) X-Band fire control radar for missile guidance. Both are Active Electronically Scanned Array radars.
Bavar is able to detect targets or planes at more than 300 km, lock a target at about 250 km, and destroy it at 200 km, including stealth aircraft but at a shorter range. It can hit targets up to an altitude of 30 kilometers. The system is said to resist electronic warfare and electromagnetic bombs. In addition, its radars are capable of detecting anti-radiation missiles (ARM). Bavar-373 uses a long-range, phased array fire-control radar, dubbed Me’raj-4.