TEHRAN – Iranian Army on Saturday unveiled a new surveillance radar system, named Falaq, which can track different air threats.

The advanced radar system was unveiled at a ceremony attended by Chief of the Air Defense Force Brigadier General Alireza Sabahifard, Mehr reported.

Based on Gamma surveillance radars, Falaq can track different ballistic and cruise missiles as well as UAVs in a range of 400 kilometers.

As a consequence of sanctions, Iran has not been able to repair its imported Gamma radars, which eventually caused Iranian experts of the Air Defense Force to recreate the system.

“Once again, the brave youths of the Army Air Defense Force succeeded in overhauling another system which was out of operation for so long. They carried out a difficult job which even the manufacturers of this system couldn’t do,” said General Sabahifard while addressing the ceremony.

Sabahifard added that Falaq has lots of capabilities and is able to identify different cruise and ballistic missiles as well as stealth and unmanned aircraft.

Iranian military experts and technicians have in recent years made great headways in manufacturing a broad range of indigenous equipment, making the armed forces self-sufficient in the defense sphere.

Tehran maintains that its military might poses no threat to regional countries, stressing that the Islamic Republic’s defense doctrine is entirely based on deterrence.

Iran plans to unveil a homegrown long-range air defense system, named “Bavar-373”, on the National Day of the Defense Industry, which falls on August 22 this year.

Bavar-373 is a domestically built long-range mobile air defense system which was developed after the UN Security Council passed a resolution banning the sale of advanced weapons to the Islamic Republic, which in turn suspended Iran’s purchase of the Russian S-300.

A distinguishing feature of Bavar-373 is its vertical launching system with square launchers, mostly used for air defense on warships.

MH/PA