Illustrative image. (Tasnim News Agency)
Iran has received hundreds of Chinese and Russian anti-aircraft missiles during recent ceasefire periods, as it moves to rebuild its air defense network severely damaged during the war with the United States and Israel, MBN reported on August 6.
Iranian opposition leaders, representing Kurdish and Ahwazi Arab groups, told the news outlet that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) acquired three types of man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS), distributing them to military sites, urban centers and border regions across Iran while transferring some of the weapons to allied armed groups in Iraq.
Kurdish and Ahwazi opposition sources said negotiations to purchase Chinese-made shoulder-fired air defense systems began during Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi’s visit to Beijing in May. Araghchi was accompanied by officials from the IRGC and its Aerospace Force. Meetings held in both China and Tehran culminated in the signing of the deal in mid-June.
Hamid Motashar, head of the Ahwazi Liberal Party, said the Islamic Republic received about 400 launchers of the Chinese QW-12 and FN-16 MANPADS, along with ammunition and spare parts, in four air shipments from Urumqi in northwestern China via Pakistani airspace.
Motashar said the IRGC Aerospace Force deployed the systems across several interior regions, including Ahvaz, to protect command-and-control centers and military installations from potential air attacks.
He further claimed that Iranian troops used one of the Chinese systems to shoot down a U.S.-made LUCAS one-way attack drone near the port of Bandar Abbas on July 13.
These claims line up with a report by Reuters from last month that unveiled the deal, but stopped short of confirming if any MANPADS were delivered to Iran.
The QW-12, developed by China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation, features a dual-band passive infrared seeker with improved filtering. Meanwhile, the FN-16, developed by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology, features an infrared, ultraviolet dual-spectrum seeker. Both missiles have an engagement range of 6 kilometers and an altitude of 4 kilometers.
Three Kurdish opposition leaders also said Iran received about 300 Russian-made 9K333 Verba MANPADS, along with their missiles, in five small shipments delivered across the Caspian Sea.
The systems were deployed close to military bases and sensitive facilities in Tehran, Kermanshah, Isfahan, Mashhad and the border with Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, as well as to Iranian ports overlooking the Strait of Hormuz, according to the leaders.
The Verba, developed by KB Mashinostroyeniya, has an operational range of 6.5 kilometers, with the ability to engage targets flying at an altitude of 4.5 kilometers.
The missile is equipped with a multispectral optical seeker which uses three sensors: ultraviolet, near infrared, and mid-infrared.
Prior to the start of the war on Iran, the Financial Times reported that the Islamic Republic inked a deal with Russia on thousands of Verba missiles. The report, which came out in February, noted, however, that the deliveries of the MANPADS are scheduled in three tranches, running from 2027 all the way through 2029.
According to the Iranian opposition leaders who spoke to MBN, Iran has transferred a number of these MANPADS to allied armed factions in Iraq over the past two weeks in anticipation of a possible expansion of hostilities with the U.S.
The QW-12, FN-16 and Verba are highly capable. They especially pose a real threat to low-flying warplanes, and would thereby force the U.S. to rely more on expensive stand-off munitions, and limit the ability of its drones to carry out combat and reconnaissance missions.
If the report is accurate, it can be assumed that Iran has fully rebuilt, and even upgraded, the lower tier of its air defense network. It is still unclear, however, if the Islamic Republic is working to rebuild the upper tiers of its air defenses, and if China and Russia are helping. That would be a major problem for the U.S.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence
NOW hosted at southfront.press
Previously, SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence was at southfront.org.
The .org domain name had been blocked by the US (NATO) (https://southfront.press/southfront-org-blocked-by-u-s-controlled-global-internet-supervisor/) globally, outlawed and without any explanation
Back before that, from 2013 to 2015, SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence was at southfront.com
