Iran to Bring 2 New Powerful Missile Shields into Operation This Year

(FNA)- Commander of Khatam ol-Anbia Air Defense Base Brigadier General Farzad Esmayeeli announced on Tuesday that Iran plans to add two new powerful missile defense systems into its integrated air defense network this year, including its own version of the Russian S-300.

"The long-range air defense missile system, Bavar (Belief) 373, will be built by the end of this (Iranian) year (which started on March 21) and will be deployed in specified regions," Esmayeeli told reporters in Tehran today, referring to the Iranian version of the sophisticated Russian S-300 missile defense shield.

He also announced the country's plan to test mid and long-range Talash (Endeavor) missile system, and said, "The system will be brought into operation by the end of this year."

Warning that the most important threats posed to Iran are from the sky, Esmayeeli said if Yemen had enjoyed a powerful air defense, it would have been able to defend itself against the Saudi airstrikes and end the war on the very first day.

He said the US insists on putting Iran's missile technology on the agenda of the nuclear negotiations with Iran due to its fear of the country's missile deterrent power, adding that Tehran will never open talks with the foreigners about its missile capabilities.

Esmayeeli reminded that Iran's missile power is indebted to domestic technology, saying that Iran has not imported the missiles from foreign states, including the US, and thus, it would never allow it to go on the agenda of any kind of talks.

In relevant remarks on Friday, Iran's Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan announced that the country would conduct an operational test of the home-made version of the sophisticated Russian S-300 missile defense system, Bavar 373, before the end of the current Iranian year.

"… we expect to be able to test the production model of S-300 by the end of the current year," Brigadier General Dehqan told reporters.

"Thanks God, and thanks to the human, technical and industrial capacities that Iran has; it does have the necessary defense systems to guarantee its aerospace security," he added.

Earlier this month, Iran displayed its Bavar 373 missile defense system during the military parades South of the capital.

Iran designed and developed its own version of the S-300 missile shield after the Russians shrugged off delivery of their advanced missile defense system to Iran on the pretext of the UN Security Council sanctions.

The Iranian version has superior features over the original Russian model as it enjoys increased mobility, agility and reduced launch-preparation time.

Iranian commanders had earlier said that Bavar 373, that similar to its original Russian model traces and intercepts high-altitude targets, would come into operation this Iranian year (that started on March 21, 2015).

Earlier this month, Russian President Vladimir Putin removed the ban on the delivery of the missile shield to Iran.

Following the announcement, Brigadier General Dehqan said "the decree came as an interpretation of the will of the two countries' political leaders to develop and promote cooperation in all fields".

Putin's decision was announced hours after relevant reports said the Kremlin also plans to supply China with the advanced S-400 air defense system.

In early April, Iranian Ground Force Commander Brigadier General Ahmad Reza Pourdastan underlined the country's air defense capabilities, and said the indigenously-made Bavar 373 air missile shield enjoys the same features of its Russian peer, the S-300.

Speaking on the sidelines of the unveiling ceremony of the ground force's achievements, Pourdastan said that supplying Iran with the Russian S-300 missiles would boost the country's air defense power and it could hit the targets at higher altitudes.

"But of course, Iran's Air Defense Base has carried out great task in recent years, including the designing and manufacturing of Bavar 373 air defense missile system, which has the same capabilities as the Russian S-300," the Iranian commander further stressed.

In November 2011, Esmayeeli told reporters that the designing phase of the Iranian version of S-300 system had ended and the system would be developed and delivered to the country's integrated air defense network in a matter of few years.

He further said that Bavar 373 is even more powerful and more advanced than the Russian S-300.

"Bavar 373 system is an important and completely indigenous achievement that can be a powerful rival for S-300," the commander reiterated.