Update: IRGC tests SAM system on ship

Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) has tested a 3 Khordad surface-to-air missile (SAM) system on one of its ships, the Tasnim and Fars news agencies reported on 19 June.

Both news agencies released a video that included brief footage of a 3 Khordad transporter-erector-launcher and radar (TELAR) unit launching a missile from the afterdeck of an IRGC Navy transport ship called Shahid Siyavashi .

The video was released to mark the anniversary of the shooting down of a US Global Hawk unmanned surveillance aircraft, which the IRGC has attributed to the 3 Khordad system. It included footage of 3 Khordads being produced and tested, as well as what was presented as the launch against the Global Hawk.

Fars erroneously described Shahid Siyavashi as a frigate, saying it was domestically built and was involved in an encounter with the USS Vella Gulf on 7 March, forcing the Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser to move out of the way. Vella Gulf was in the Mediterranean at that time.