Iran’s Defense Ministry unveiled a domestic air defense system dubbed “15th of Khordad” on June 9 in a ceremony attended by Defense Minister Brigadier General Amir Hatami.
“The 15th of Khordad which has been designed and developed by domestic experts can simultaneously intercept and take action against six targets … It can also be prepared for operation in less than five minutes” Brig. Gen. Hatami said describing the system during the ceremony, according to Mehr News.
The 15th of Khordad can reportedly track aerial targets within a range of 150km and intercept them within a 120km range. Iran also claim that the system can intercept “stealth targets” within a range of 85km, and destroy them in a 45km range.
The system uses Iranian-made Sayyad-3 and 3C ground-to-air missiles. Iran claims these missiles were indigenously-designed. However, experts believe that they were developed from US-made RIM-66 Standard missiles, which were in service with the Iranian Navy.
Like the RIM-66 Standard, the Sayyad-3 family of anti-aircraft missiles is believed to be guided by semi-active radar homing (SARH).
Iran has boosted weapons development and production since the beginning of 2019 in what appears to be a response to the increasing threats from the U.S. and Israel.
