Air Defense Force of Iran takes delivery of Samavat 35mm twin-cannon anti-aircraft system 11002166

Defence & Security News - Iran
 
Air Defense Force of Iran takes delivery of Samavat 35mm twin-cannon anti-aircraft system.
The Samavat 35mm towed anti-aircraft twin-cannon has been delivered to Iran’s air defense bases, announced Brig. Gen. Farzad Eslamili on Tuesday, February 9, 2016. According to air defense commander, the Samavat 35mm is capable of being installed on two to six artillery systems.
     
     
Brig. Gen. Farzad Esmaili, commander of the Khatam al-Anbiya Air Defense Base, told Mehr News Agency on Tuesday that the Samavat smart artillery control system is ‘dual-purpose’, meaning it can function as both active and passive.

“When in active mode, the Samavat 35mm detects targets with its smart radar system and broadcasts the targets data to the artillery tubes located at several points. The weapons then automatically lock into the target with radar and provide us with air defense at low altitude,” he explained.

The Samavat 35mm is an Iranian version of the Swiss Oerlikon 35 mm twin cannon. This is a towed anti-aircraft gun made by Oerlikon Contraves now a subdivision of Rheinmetall Air Defence AG. Iran originally acquired GDF-001 systems with Fledermaus radars which were primarily deployed to defend air bases, later Iran bought 24 SkyGuard systems with GDF-002 cannon before the revolution and primarily deployed them as point defense for air bases and other strategic targets.

The Samavat 35mm is a short range air defence system which has a maximum range of 4 km and can fire at a rate of 1100 rounds per minute. It can hit cruise missiles automatically and UAV at low altitudes.