Mesbah 1 is an Iranian anti aircraft artillery system developed to defend against incoming
cruise missiles
A cruise missile is a guided missile used against terrestrial or naval targets that remains in the atmosphere and flies the major portion of its flight path at approximately constant speed. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large warhead ...
. It was unveiled in 2010 by Iranian defense minister
Ahmad Vahidi
Ahmad Vahidi ( fa, احمد وحیدی, born 27 June 1958) is an Iranian military commander of the Revolutionary Guards and current Minister of Interior since August 25, 2021. In addition, he is currently member of the Expediency Discernment Cou ...
and hit its intended target successfully in the test. Production started some months later.
Design
Mesbah uses 4 Iranian built Russian
ZU-23-2
The ZU-23-2, also known as ZU-23, is a Soviet towed 23×152mm anti-aircraft twin-barreled autocannon. ZU stands for ''Zenitnaya Ustanovka'' (Russian: Зенитная Установка) – anti-aircraft mount. The GRAU index is 2A13.
Developm ...
installed on a rotatable mount. Each
autocannon
An autocannon, automatic cannon or machine cannon is a fully automatic gun that is capable of rapid-firing large-caliber ( or more) armour-piercing, explosive or incendiary shells, as opposed to the smaller-caliber kinetic projectiles (bull ...
has its own feed magazine. Each ZU-23-2 has a reported fire rate of 2000 rpm. But surprisingly the whole system is reported to have a rate of 4000 rpm instead of 8000. This is probably because developers wanted it to save ammunition. The mount can rotate in different angles but the exact degrees are unknown.
The system uses Radar and
IR/Optical sensors to find its target automatically. Its radar is described as a 3D flat-antenna radar with a good accuracy that finds and traces the target and gives its position to the
fire control system
A fire-control system (FCS) is a number of components working together, usually a gun data computer, a director, and radar, which is designed to assist a ranged weapon system to target, track, and hit a target. It performs the same task as a ...
.
Mesbah is described being able to engage both fixed and rotary wing aircraft and cruise missiles in low and very low altitudes. Its automatic control system makes it need less crew to operate and its sophisticated tracking and tracing algorithms makes it able to engage small targets like incoming missiles.
Operators
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See also
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Equipment of the Iranian Army
This page includes weapons used by both the Ground Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army and the Ground Forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
From 1925 to the Iranian Revolution in 1979, Iran was primarily equipped with Wester ...
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Iranian military industry
Iran's military industry manufactures and exports various types of arms and military equipment. Iran's military industry, under the command of Iran's Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces Logistics, is composed of the following main components:
S ...
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Military of Iran
The Islamic Republic of Iran Armed Forces, are the combined military forces of Iran, comprising the Islamic Republic of Iran Army (''Arteš''), the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (''Sepâh'') and the Law Enforcement Force (Police).
Iran ...
References
External links
Video of the system
{{Weapons of Iran
Anti-aircraft guns
Weapons of Iran
Military equipment introduced in the 2010s