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Iran Developing Air Defense Systems to Challenge U.S., Israel
(JNS) Yaakov Lappin - Lt.-Col. (ret.) Michael Segall - a senior researcher at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs and an expert on Iranian military strategy and tactics - published a report in August that documented recent developments in Iran's Bavar 373 air-defense system, which the Islamic Republic touted as a "substantial upgrade" from the Russian-made S-300 system. Segall told JNS that Iran could deploy its domestically produced surface-to-air missile batteries in the Persian Gulf, close to islands near the UAE that are subject to long-standing territorial disputes. Such systems could be operated against American forces, said Segall, noting that the Iranians "fly unmanned aerial vehicles over U.S. battle carrier groups in the Persian Gulf all of the time. They could combine these UAVs with surface-to-air missile systems." Iran is also believed to be seeking to smuggle such systems into Syria in order to challenge Israeli Air Force strikes as it continues attempts to transfer weapons and build military bases there.