3rd Khordad

Iran's mobile medium-to-long-range surface-to-air missile system — a self-contained launcher-and-radar vehicle from the indigenous Raad family, Tehran's rough equivalent of Russia's Buk. In 2019 a 3rd Khordad shot down a US RQ-4 Global Hawk over the Strait of Hormuz, Iran's most famous air-defence kill.

Overview

The 3rd Khordad (in Persian Sevom Khordad, often rendered Khordad-3) is an Iranian road-mobile surface-to-air missile system and the most capable member of the indigenous Raad (Ra'ad) air-defence family. It is built around a self-contained TELAR — a single vehicle integrating the launcher, an active phased-array fire-control radar and the engagement electronics — so each unit can detect, track and engage targets semi-autonomously, in the manner of Russia's Buk. Developed by Iran's Ministry of Defence (MODAFL) and the Aerospace Industries Organization, it forms the mobile, survivable medium-range middle layer of Iran's integrated air defence, below the strategic Bavar-373. Its claim to fame is concrete combat success: it downed a high-flying US Navy Global Hawk in 2019.

Development

The carrier chassis associated with the system was first unveiled in December 2012 alongside the related Raad air-defence system, and the complete 3rd Khordad configuration was formally introduced at the 2014 IRGC achievements exhibition, according to Army Recognition. At unveiling it had a declared engagement range of roughly 75 km and an interception ceiling of 25–27 km; subsequent upgrades to missiles, seekers and radar pushed the maximum reported reach to about 200 km and 30 km with the long-range Taer-3 and Sayyad-3 interceptors. The 3rd Khordad belongs to a broader common-chassis family that includes the Raad, Tabas, Alam Al-Hodi and 9 Dey systems, plus the longer-range relative Khordad-15 (a separate system, not to be confused with this one).

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