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Iran is testing a beyond-visual-range (BVR) air-to-air missile that was apparently developed locally, a photo from October revealed.
The photo shows an F-4 Phantom II of the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF) carrying the new missile taking off from an unidentified air base in the Islamic Republic. Notably, all of the missile, except for the nose cone, was painted in red, indicating that this was likely a test round with a functioning guidance system.
The IRIAF remains largely outdated, with most of its squadrons made up from American-made fighter jets which were delivered before the Islamic Revolution of 1979.
With reportedly more than 60 fighter jets in service, the F-4 is still the backbone of the aging air force. Most of these fighter jets are believed to be equipped with the AN/APQ-120, an outdated solid-state fire-control radar with a decent range of 90-140 kilometers.
The new air-to-air missile, which is apparently meant to revive the capabilities of the IRIAF’s F-4s, is very similar in design to the United States’ Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM).
Due to this, some Iranian military analysts speculated that the missile was developed based on the wreckage of several AMRAAMs that Iran retrieved following the 12-day war with Israel last June. Others, however, speculated that the missile was a copy of China’s PL-12, which is itself comparable to the AMRAAM, or even another very similar missile that was tested by North Korea in May.
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Meanwhile, rumors from Iranian defense forums said that the new missile is dubbed “Baz,” which means falcon or hawk in Persian.
The missile is equipped with an active radar seeker and has a range of 100 kilometers – the same range as the PL-12 -, according to the rumors, which also says that the missile was developed not only for the F-4, but also for the IRIAF’s aging F-5 and F-14 fighter jets.
A documentary aired recently by Iranian state TV revealed that the IRAF, specifically F-14 fighter jets, despite their old age and poor technical status, managed to intercept several Israeli drones during the last war. This could explain the Islamic Republic’s interest in reviving the capabilities of these fighter jets.
Iran has some experience working on air-to-air missiles, although it previously worked mainly on reverse engineering missiles which were already in service with the IRIAF.
In 2011, the Islamic Republic announced the mass production of the Fakour-90, a copy of the F-14’s AIM-54 Phoenix BVR air-to-air missile with semi-active radar guidance and a range of 150 kilometers. Just two years earlier, it said that the mass production of the Fatter, an infrared-guided air-to-air missile with a range of 40 kilometers, had begun. The missile is a copy of another American-made missile, the AIM-9.
A new BVR air-to-air missile with active radar guidance, which provides for a higher kill property and better resistance to jamming, could make Iran’s aging American-made fighter jets useful again for a while, especially as drone hunters. This is not, however, a real solution for the problems of the IRIAF, which needs a complete modernization.
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due to this, some iranian military analysts speculated that the missile was developed based on the wreckage of several amraams that iran retrieved following the 12-day war with israel last june…………. https://psee.io/8ela5d