Iran to complete Bavar-373 missile system by 2016

Iran is geared up to complete a domestically developed missile system, which is more advanced than the Russian-made S-300 system, by March 2016, a senior Iranian commander says.

The infrastructure for manufacturing the Bavar-373 missile defense system is prepared and the “bottlenecks” in the project have been removed, said commander of Khatam al-Anbiya Air Defense Base Brigadier General Farzad Esmaili.

He said the system will have been constructed by the end of Iran’s Fifth Development Plan in March 2016.

“We hope that by the end of the plan, we will see a very good system with more capabilities than S-300 join [the country’s] Air Defense cycle,” said the commander.

Under a contract signed in 2007, Russia was obliged to provide Iran with at least five S-300 defense systems.

However, Moscow refused to deliver the system to Iran under the pretext that it is covered by the fourth round of the United Nations Security Council sanctions against Tehran over its nuclear energy program.

Over the past years, Iran has attained self-sufficiency in producing important military equipment and systems.

The Islamic Republic has repeatedly assured its neighbors that its military might poses no threat to other countries, insisting that its defense doctrine is based on deterrence.