Iran tests modified version of air defense missile systems.

On 5 November, Iranian air defense units carried out the operational test of modified versions of two indigenous missile systems during a large-scale war game. The Iranian Army and the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) have staged a large-scale joint military exercise, as reported by Tasnim and AMN.

Mersad surface-to-air missile system (Picture source: Mehr)

Units of the Iranian Air Defense, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), and the Air Force launched the large-scale joint military exercise in an area of around half a million square kilometers in northern, central and western Iran. During the ‘Velayat’ air defense drill, the Army fired three ‘Sayyad-2’ missiles paired with the ‘Talash’ homegrown missile system. The homegrown Talash air defense system can hit medium and high-altitude targets. Capable of intercepting targets within a range of 150 kilometers and in high altitudes, Talash has been equipped with a locally-manufactured fire control radar, dubbed Ofoq.

In another operation during the war game, the IRGC Aerospace Force units employed ‘Khordad 3rd‘ air defense missile system to shoot down dummy hostile aircraft. Khordad 3rd can intercept 4 targets and fire 8 missiles simultaneously within a range of 50 km.

According to a CSIS report, the Iranian Army and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps showcased their new version of the indigenous surface-to-air Mersad missile system, the first time that the public could see it in action. “The Mersad system is normally paired with the Shalamcheh surface-to-air missile, but the new missiles and carrier vehicle enhance Mersad’s mobility and range. In a separate exercise, the IRGC Aerospace Force tested its Basheer 3D radar,” the CSIS report added.