Sunday, May 18, 2008

Iranian MANPADS







The Iranian Army operates SA-7 Strela 2M and SA-14 Strela 3 man-portable air-defense systems (MANPADS). In addition, Iran manufactures its own indigenously developed Misagh-1 and 2. The Misagh-1 is an all-aspect passive infrared homing system. It is a variant of the Chinese QW-1 Vanguard missile system. The Misagh-2 (bottom two photos) is an advanced version of the Mithaq-1 air-defense system. It features a fire and forget infrared seeker, has an effective range of 5000 meters, a maximum altitude of 3500 meters and a maximum velocity of Mach 2.

The Unites States has yet to display one of these Iranian units from the Iraqi battlefield. In the event of open hostilities between the US and Iran, use of Iranian supplied MANPADS in Iraq is likely.

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