The Iranian Armed Forces began investing heavily in ground-based air defense systems in the 1980s, beginning with the Iran-Iraq War, purchasing a network of Chinese systems built around the HQ-2, a derivative of the HQ-2. 75 provides the country with advanced high-altitude targeting capabilities. After its rapprochement with the Soviet Union in 1989, Iran would purchase second-hand Soviet-made tanks in the 1990s. target=”_blank”>S-200D remote air defense systemWith an unparalleled 300km target range, it provides significant coverage in its airspace for the first time. The system's powerful radar coverage is also sufficient to compensate for the severe damage to radar installations caused by Iraqi attacks during the Iran-Iraq war. Still, Iran's air defenses remain far behind the curve, as Russia began exporting its new S-300PM series of systems in the early to mid-1990s, which combine multiple complementary missile categories with long-range targeting capabilities and high-speed missiles in an unprecedented way. mobility combined.
With Russian production in the 1990s Most of the new S-300PM series systems were exported to Russia, and demand for the systems dropped significantly after China began operating them in the 2000s for increasingly advanced variants of its < a href=" target="_blank">HQ-9 systemthe system quickly gained advantages over its Russian counterparts, especially in electronics. As the United States and its Western allies continued to consider the option of launching an attack on Iran following the invasion of Iraq in the 2000s, Iran would place its first order for a highly mobile, long-range air defense system, the S-300PMU-1 system, to Russia in 2007. The orders were popular and helped make up for a sharp drop in demand from China. Despite this, the capabilities of the S-300PMU-1 are still significantly inferior to the S-300PMU-2, or “a href=”S-300PMU-2 sold to China in the past ten years. target=”_blank” >The new S-400, although already in service in Russia itself, still represents a revolutionary improvement over Iranian networks. However, in 2010, the new government of Russian President Medvedev halted sales of S-300s before they could be delivered, resulting in significant diplomatic fallout between the two countries. Although Iran purchased the Russian Tor-M1 short-range system equipped with an advanced anti-cruise missile system in the early 2000s, it was unable to make major purchases. title=”Iranian Air Force Soviet-supplied MiG-29s”
While the Soviet Union has proven to be a reliable supplier to Iran, post-Soviet Russia will prove became more susceptible to Western pressure and canceled a number of arms deals in the 1990s, including a production license for the T-72 tank, while also Stop rearming the Iranian Air Force with MiG-29 and Su-24M fighter jets, as the Soviet Union has been doing. Moscow has taken these measures despite a large surplus of systems supplied to Iran and at a time when its defense sector is in dire need of revenue, demonstrating the considerable influence the West retains over the country. This is key to ensuring that Western Bloc countries and Israel retain the option of attacking Iranian targets with relatively little resistance. Russia specifically lifted restrictions on the sale of S-300 systems after signing the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action nuclear deal in 2015, a year after Russia provided more to Iran as relations between Moscow and the West soured over the conflict in Ukraine. Production of capable S-300PMU-2 systems began from April to October 2016. target=”_blank”>Exited the transactionand refused to provide Damascus with modern long-range air defense systems. Little is known about the customization of the systems Iran received, but they are known to use the 96L6E target acquisition radar, the 30N6E2 target engagement radar, and the 64N6E2 battle management radar. title=“Israeli F-35I equipped with GBU-31/B bombs”
In addition to the S-300, Russian sources revealed in 2020 that Iran also possesses the
