Iran to launch home-made missile defense system Bavar 373 by 2017 21910151.

"And we believe that the systems will be ready for launch by March 2017," he added.

In relevant remarks in April, Iran's Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan announced that the country would test 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.

"Thank 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.

Also in April, 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 will boost the country's air defense power and it can 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, General 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.

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