TEHRAN, 24 Oct. - (ANA) - Iran's domestically-developed Bavar-373 air defense missile system has been put to test for the first time on the second day of the country's large-scale aerial drills, successfully destroying the designated targets.

 

Thursday marked the second day of the large-scale drills, codenamed Modafe'an-e Aseman-e Velayat 99 (Guardians of Velayat Sky 99), underway in an area covering more than half of the country.

 

Air defense divisions of Iran's Army and Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) are participating in the joint aerial maneuvers.

 

During its first-ever presence in a military maneuver, the Bavar-373 air defense system fired surface-to-air missiles at standoff targets, successfully eliminating them.

 

Bavar-373 — which was unveiled in August 2019 — is a mobile missile defense system designed to intercept and destroy incoming hostile targets. The system employs missiles that have a maximum range of 300 kilometers.

 

The system is capable of simultaneously detecting up to 300 targets, tracking 60 targets at once and engaging six targets at a time.

 

Bavar 373 has two search and intercept radars, which can resist electronic warfare and electromagnetic bombs. In addition, the radars are capable of detecting anti-radiation missiles (ARM) that are used to confront air defenses.

 

Second Brigadier General Abbas Farajpour, the spokesman for the maneuvers, praised the country's breakthroughs in developing state-of-the-art missile defense systems, warning enemies against any aggression.

 

"Today, our enemies know that in the event of any aggression, even a small one, against our country's airspace, they will face a huge barrage of fire from the defense systems of the Army and the IRGC," he said.

 

On the first day of the drills, the participating troops practiced a wide range of electronic warfare tactics.

 

The maneuvers feature different types of homegrown missiles, radar systems, reconnaissance, electronic warfare and communication systems as well as an optical surveillance network.  - (ANA) -

 

AB/ANA/24 October 2020 - - -