Illustrative image. (Tasnim News Agency)
The advanced Russian-made 9K338 Igla-S man-portable air defense system (MANPADS) has made a surprise appearance in Iran.
The MANPADS appeared in a photo released by the semi-official Tasnim News Agency on April 22. The photo was taken at a gathering by Basij volunteers in the city of Ahvaz in the western Iranian province of Khuzestan. The news agency said that the gathering was held “in support of the leadership and the armed forces.”
The Igla-S is the latest version in the Igla family of MANPADS, which first appeared in the Soviet Union. It features a longer range — up to six kilometers — a more sensitive infrared seeker, improved resistance to latest countermeasures, and a heavier warhead weighing 2,5 kg.
Illustrative image. (Tasnim News Agency)
It was not previously known that Iran possessed this type of MANPADS, and it is still unclear when exactly the Islamic Republic received it.
Iran began arming the Basij with MANPADS just days after the beginning of the American-Israeli war more than a month ago.
The Basij, completely made up of volunteers, is one of the five branches of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The paramilitary force is reported to have more than 25 million reservists, with at least 600,000 available for immediate call-up.
The Iranian had notable success in using MANPADS during the war. On April 3 alone, MANPADS were reportedly used to shoot down an F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet then an A-10 Thunderbolt II attack jet of the United States Air Force. It is possible that Igla-S missiles were what brought down these warplanes.
Iran has been already working to acquire more MANPADS before the war. A report by the Financial Times claimed that the Islamic Republic inked an agreement to buy thousands of 9K333 Verba MANPADS, which is even more advanced than the Igla-S, some time in December.
And right after the ceasefire entered into effect, a report by CNN revealed Chinese plans to ship MANPADS of an unknown type to Iran.
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note: these and all the weapons supplied to iran by russia and china are defensive weapons. just remember that, neocons, and hypocrites…
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is good but max altitude is a little on the shy side. hope they have a bunch of s400
according to my americunt hillbilly intelligence this is impossible
no more air superiority for the evil empire. air power is its main weapon for bringing down democracies. the usadmin prefers to bomb first and invade later. with many manpads around the country, serbia, libya, syria, afghanistan, won’t be repeated in iran and the usadmin will have to invade the hard way.
the us can not win direct war. but has sleep walked itself into believing expansion of colonialism through military and political means is the only way it can prosper. it still believes it can create and utilize proxy assets to complete its wishes. isis is a very small example
air power is its main weapon for bringing down democracies
actually, a bunch of neonazis bused in from lwow with sniper rifles, 0 morals and western embassy safehouses can do a better job, esp. with more than a little help from their neoconniving friends to control the narrative.
vanya made surprise appearance in 3 ghetto gay bars yesterday
yuri, he was humping one-legged senile bridge-dwelling winos too!!
the us can not stop russian to iran. it does not have the ability. the colonialist mafia practices supply chain disruption by ignorance. i think china is busy protecting itself from the insanity of us proxy assaults while protecting its population for the long term.
turning all the black sea into a nato lake was the colonialist mafia’s number one priority. it was a bust but had it worked, then turning the caspian sea into a nato lake was its number two.
greedy little buggers, aren’t they?
iran cannot be saved because the russians and the alawites were dirty traitors in december 2024. because they knelt before erdogan. i hope that my observation has led me to the right conclusions and the ozone layer is been destroyed so much that soon they will have +50 degrees cesium during the day and -10 degrees cesium at night. the destruction of the ozone layer alone would be a fitting punishment for the betrayal committed by the russians and the alawites. no sheep, no grain, in latakia
note that the igla-s in the photo is not a complete system. the gripstock is missing, and, to my knowledge, none have been spotted in iran to date.