Iran Unveils Bavar-373 Air Defense System, Senior Military Official Says: It Will Prove To Be Superior To Other Systems, Including The Russian S-500 System

On August 19, 2020, Ofogh TV (Iran) aired a report about Bavar-373, an air defense system. The report explained that each Bavar-373 battery is comprised of eight vehicles used to carry two radars, a command center, and Sayyad-4 missile launchers. The narrator said that the Sayyad-4 missiles use solid fuel and are launched vertically, that Bavar-373 is resistant to jamming, and that the system can intercept planes, ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and targets with a small radar cross section. General Farzad Esmaili, a senior advisor to the Iranian military's Commander-in-Chief, said that in the next two years, Bavar-373 will prove to be superior to any other air defense system in Iran, and even to the Russian S-400 and S-500 systems.

Narrator 1: "Unlimited power – in the Year of a Boom in Production [i.e. 2019], with the most advanced air defense system: Bavar-373. Two vehicles are used to carry a target detection radar and a radar for guidance and interception. One vehicle houses the command center, and there are six launcher vehicles. Each Bavar battery has six Sayyad-4 missile launchers. The missiles are launched vertically towards the target, which enables the system to respond swiftly to multiple threats from different directions. This is significantly more [effective] than launching the missiles at an angle. The Bavar system uses solid fuel, which makes it simpler to transport and faster to prepare for launch. It also gives it an incalculably long storage life.

Narrator 2: "In addition to being able to handle aerodynamic targets like planes, Bavar-373 can handle ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and other types of missiles. Special care was taken in designing its ability to destroy targets that have a small radar cross section."

Narrator 1: "The system can withstand electronic jamming by the enemy, and it can simultaneously target dozens of targets. This system has a target detection range greater than 300 kilometers. With a target speed factor of 2800 m/s, this system can respond within 5-7 seconds, and it can target six out of 100 identified targets."

General Farzad Esmaili: "I believe that in the next two years, Bavar-373 will be far superior to and more sophisticated than the air defense systems that have been delivered to Iran. Even the S-400 and S-500 systems will not be able to compare."