02 September 2021

Iran unveils new air-defence systems

by Jeremy Binnie

The Islamic Republic of Iran Army's Air Defence Force unveiled a new surveillance radar and command-and-control (C2) system on 1 September and also announced that it has tested a new version of its Mesad-16 surface-to-air missile (SAM) system.

The Alborz radar appears to have been developed for the same role as the Moraqeb radar that was unveiled in April 2020. (Fars News Agency)

The Iranian press described the Alborz as a 3D phased array radar that has a range of 450 km and can track 300 targets simultaneously, including low-altitude ones with small radar cross-sections. The radar that was displayed had a large planar antenna mounted on a trailer that was connected to a second trailer that presumably carried its power generator and control station.

The Borhan C2 system was reported to have been developed for short-range, low-altitude air defence weapons. Iranian news agencies reported that it is capable of analysing data from electro-optical and radar sensors and sending this on to higher level command posts for rapid decisions. It then tasks the appropriate weapon system with intercepting the target.

Photographs and a video were released showing eight air defence personnel manning two banks of workstations inside a building rather than a mobile command post.

It was announced the previous day that a new version of the Mersad-16 system had been successfully tested in the central desert. Deputy Air Defence Force Commander for Operations General Mohammad Khoshqalb was cited as saying that the system includes new technology to counter electronic warfare and simultaneously intercept several targets. He added that the Mersad-16 was integrated into an air defence network for the first time during the test.

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