Air Defence Doctrine
The Air Defences are operating in accordance with the following Doctrine:
The Iranian’s have a well developed Integrated Air Defence System (IADS). The Russians have the last years provided various parts to increse the effectiveness of this network.
The IADS consiste of 2 primary elements. Where one is the A-A fighters located at primary airbases, and the second is the Surface to Air missile’s.
IADS consists of Early Warning Radar’s (EWR’s) that support both elements with early warning.
Around the most critical infrastructure, such as important airbases, a Air Defence Brigade consisting of SA-10 and SA-11 is eastablished to provide necessary area defence to protect other parts of the IADS, especially the A-A fighters.
Around key cities or military installations, various fixed sites of larger SAM’s such as SA-2, SA-3 and SA-6 is establised. All static sites is assessed to be protected by smaller SAM’s to prevent low-flying aircraft from attacking the larger SAM’s.
For supporting the ground forces, the Iranian primarily uses its Air Defence Battalions of SA-19, SA-13. These battalions are attached to motorized and mechanized infantry regiments. The Air Defence Revolutionary Guard Battalion’s with SA-15 and SA-8 are normally attached to the armored regiments, as these are seen as the most important element of the Iranian ground forces.
Tactics
The Iranian SAM’s are reported to use various modes of operandi in order to increase it’s lethality and make it harder for the coalition to operate:
- One tactic is to have smaller SAM’s shut off, and only turned on when a potential target is in the weapon engagement zone of the SAM.
- The entire network is likely not active at any given time, as the Iranians want to both hide and prevent Anti Radiation Missiles (ARM’s) to be able to neutralize their radars.
- The Iranians mobile SAM’s is also known for shooting, and then moving to a new location to prevent beeing targeted by SEAD/DEAD forces.
List of standard units
Air Defence Brigade
| Unit | Size | Sub-units | Equipment | Supports |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air Defence Brigade | Brigade | 1x SA-10 Bn, 2x SA-11 Battery, 1x Air Defence Battery | Critically important installations/areas | |
| SA-10 Battalion | Battalion | 3x SA-10 Radars , 8x SA-10 Launchers | Critically important installations and areas | |
| SA-11 Battery | Battery | 1x SR 9S18 M1, 1x CC 9S470M1, 2x SA-11 Launchers | Protects the SA-10 | |
| Air Defence Platoon | Platoon | 1x SA-19, 1x SA-13, 3x Manpads | Protects the SA-10 and SA-11 |
SA-2
| Unit | Size | Sub-units | Equipment | Supports |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SA-2 Regiment | Regiment | 1x EWR, 2x SA-2 BN | Important installations/areas | |
| SA-2 Battalion | Battalion | SA-2 Site, Air Defence Platoon | 1x SR P-19, 1x TR SNR-75 Fan Song, 6x SA-6 Launchers, 1x SA-19, 1x SA-13, 1x Manpads | Important installations/areas |
| Air Defence Platoon | Platoon | 1x SA-19, 1x SA-13, 3x Manpads | Protects the static site |
SA-3
| Unit | Size | Sub-units | Equipment | Supports |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SA-3 Regiment | Regiment | 1x EWR, 2x SA-3 BN | Important installations/areas | |
| SA-3 Battalion | Battalion | SA-3 Site, Air Defence Platoon | 1x SR P-19,1x S-125 TR SNR, 4x SA-3 Launchers, 1x SA-19, 1x SA-13, 1x Manpads | Important installations/areas |
| Air Defence Platoon | Platoon | 1x SA-19, 1x SA-13, 3x Manpads | Protects the static site |
SA-6
| Unit | Size | Sub-units | Equipment | Supports |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SA-6 Regiment | Regiment | 1x EWR, 2x SA-6 BN | Important installations/areas | |
| SA-6 Battalion | Battalion | SA-6 Site, Air Defence Platoon | 1x STR 9S91 , 4x SA-6 Launchers, 1x SA-19, 1x SA-13, 1x Manpads | Important installations/areas |
| Air Defence Platoon | Platoon | 1x SA-19, 1x SA-13, 3x Manpads | Protects the static site |
HAWK
| Unit | Size | Sub-units | Equipment | Supports |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HAWK Battalion | Battalion | 1x SR AN/MPQ 50 , 1x TR AN/MPQ 46, 1x CWAR AN/MPQ , 55 1x PCP 6x HAWK Launchers | Important installations/areas |
Mobile Air Defence
| Unit | Size | Sub-units | Equipment | Supports | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air Defence Battalion | Battalion | 2x Air Defence Batterys | 4x SA-19, 2x SA-13, 12x Manpads | Supporting a maneuver Regiment (Mechanized or Motorized) | |
| Air Defence Battery | Battery | 2x Air Defence Platoons | 2x SA-19, 2x SA-13, 6x Manpads | Supporting a maneuver Battalion (Mechanized or Motorized) | |
| Air Defence Platoon | Platoon | 1x SA-19, 1x SA-13, 3x Manpads | Supporting static sites | ||
| Air Defence Revolutionary Guard Battalion | Battalion | 1x HQ (Radar) 2x AD Revolutionary Guard Batterys | 1x Dog Ear Radar, 4x SA-15, 4x SA-8 | Supporting a Armored Regiment |
Home Guard Units
| Unit | Size | Sub-units | Equipment | Supports |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home Guard Air Defence Battery | Battery | 1-2x ZSU-23/4 or ZU-23,1-2 SA-9 or SA-13 | Protecting local infrastructure | |
| Home Guard Air Defence Battalion | Battalion | 1-2x Rapier systems, 1-2 ZU-23 or ZSU 23/4 | Protecting local infrastucture |