Iran to unveil new air defense systems, equipment soon

Iran plans to unveil new air defense systems and electronic equipment in coming weeks, a senior Iranian air defense commander announced on Saturday. “We have made many achievements in the field of radar, smart electronic systems and electronic war which will be unveiled on September 1,” Commander of Khatam ol-Anbia Air Defense Base Brigadier General Farzad Esmayeeli told reporters in the Eastern Khorassan Razavi province today. In May, The Iranian Defense Ministry started mass-production of a highly mobile home-made air-defense system. The production line of the new system, Herz (Protector) 9, was inaugurated in a special ceremony attended by former Iranian Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi on the occasion of the anniversary of the liberation of Khorramshahr city from the Iraqi occupation during the eight-year Iraqi imposed war in the 1980s. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the ceremony here in Tehran, Vahidi said Herz is a passive (silent) short-range air defense missile system. “Due to its passiveness, the enemy cannot jam and disrupt it,” the minister underscored, adding that the system can hit targets 10 km in distance and 5 km in altitude. In recent years, Iran has made great achievements in its defense sector and attained self-sufficiency in producing essential military equipment and systems. Defense analysts and military observers say that Iran’s advancements in weapons production have proved as a deterrent factor, specially at a time of heightened threats by the US.