Following a daring Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) mission in Iran, a US Air Force colonel who was shot down while over Iran has been extracted. The US Air Force lost two aircraft—an A-10 and an F-35 Lightning II—to Iranian strikes, which led to a complex mission to rescue the three airmen who used parachutes to eject.
Tehran has also claimed to have brought down another US aircraft that was deployed as part of a major operation to spot and rescue the missing pilot. CENTCOM is yet to respond to the claim.
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Iranian air defence units could have used a Third Khordad missile system to bring down the stealth fighter jet, the New York Times said in a report. It is a medium-range surface-to-air system that can be operated from a truck, the report said.
Also called the “Sevvom Khordad”, the Third Khordad missile systems are operated by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The United States needs no lessons in its effectiveness, as it lost an RQ-4 Global Hawk BAMS-D drone over the Strait of Hormuz in 2019 to this proven air-defence system. This remains one of the most celebrated episodes of Iran's missile warfare—until the fifth-generation jet was brought down.
Its mobile vehicle can hold three Taer-2 guided missiles and an AESA X-Band Active Phased Array radar. These systems are reportedly capable of detecting 100 targets, engaging four, and launching two missiles simultaneously. Their altitude reach reportedly ranges from 25 to 30 km depending on the version, and it takes no more than five minutes for the IRGC to deploy them.
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The Third Khordad was indigenously developed by Tehran and was reportedly showcased with prominence at the DSA & NATSEC 2024 defence and security exhibition in Kuala Lumpur. The system strongly resembles the Russian Buk-M2EK system.
A typical battalion of the “Sevvom Khordad” system includes four Transporter Erector Launchers and Radars (TELAR), eight Transporter Erector Launchers (TEL), and a Bashir S-band Phased Array Surveillance Radar with a range of 350 km, Defence Security Asia said in a report. The advanced versions are capable of striking targets as far as 200 kilometres away, the report added.