<table bgcolor="#ffffff" border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><th colspan="2" align="left">Russia 'losing to China on Iran S-300 quest' </th></tr> <tr><td colspan="2">

<table align="right" bgcolor="#e4e4c9" border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" width="240"> <tbody><tr> <td> http://payvand.com/news/09/may/S-300.jpg
Iran is reportedly seeking to buy a Chinese-made air defense system which is a variant of the Russian S-300.</td> </tr> </tbody></table>
Press TV (http://www.presstv.ir/) - In its quest for an advanced air defense system, Iran has reportedly shifted its hopes from Russia to China which owns a replica of the controversial Russian S-300.

As Iran's quest for the advanced Russian-made S-300 air defense system is believed to have hit rock bottom, a report by RIA Novosti said Tehran is eying a Chinese-made HQ-9 surface-to-air missile under the name FD-2000 -- recently put on the export market.

The HongQi-9/FD-2000 reportedly combines elements "borrowed" from Russia's S-300 and America's MIM-104 Patriot.

It uses elements of the Russian system's "solid rocket, aerodynamic layout, gas-dynamic spoilers, and launcher technologies, as well as some search and guidance systems."

The missile has a range of 7-125 kilometers for airborne targets -- a range much lower than the 150-kilometer range of the Russian S-300 PMU1.

The Chinese system's range for missile targets, or air-to-ground missiles, is 7-50 kilometers, with a firing altitude of 1-18 kilometers. Its range for cruise missiles is 7-15 kilometers, at a firing altitude of 0.025 kilometers.

The range for ballistic missiles is 7-25 kilometers at a firing altitude of 2-15 kilometers.

Iran has been negotiating a deal with Russia to obtain the sophisticated defense system since 2007. However, neither side has so far issued an official confirmation on the delivery of the S-300 to Iran.

Later media reports claimed that Russia's plan to turn a "new page" in its ties with the United States is likely to prompt Moscow to shelve the delivery of the S-300 system to Iran.

Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Mahdi Safari, however, said in April that the contract to buy Russia's S-300 advance missile system is still effective.

"There are no problems with this [S-300] contract," RIA Novosti quoted Safari as saying at the end of his visit to Moscow.

"After all, these are purely defensive weapons, and any country has the right to buy them. I believe this could only worry those states that have plans to attack others," he said.

Following an escalation in Israeli rhetoric, Iran has moved to upgrade its defenses and has reportedly opted to acquire the S-300 system -- which, according to Western experts, would rule out the possibility of an Israeli airstrike on Iranian nuclear sites.

"If Tehran obtained the S-300, it would be a game-changer in military thinking for tackling Iran," says long-time Pentagon advisor Dan Goure.

The S-300 surface-to-air missile system, which can track targets and fire at aircraft 120 km (75 miles) away, features high jamming immunity and is able to simultaneously engage up to 100 targets.

Iran's move to equip itself with the Chinese air defense system comes as an earlier report by the Jerusalem Post revealed that Israeli missile operators have begun weekly drills to hone their skills for a war on Iran.

According to the report, Israeli Air Force (IAF) reservists who operate the ballistic missile destroyer, the Arrow, and the surface-to-air missile, Patriot, have been called up by the Defense Ministry to spend one day a week on duty to prepare for a possible conflict with Iran.

The weekly military drills come on top of another report revealing that Israel is set to mobilize its army to hold the largest military exercise in its history on June 2.

One of the missions of the nationwide military drill is to psych up the public for the breaking out of war and to convince the people that in the event of a war the entire country could "become a front without warning". </td></tr></tbody></table>

Good move by Iran. It is not done yet but If the chines air defense system is as advanced as the russian it is a good move.
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Wouldn't this be considered missile technology under UN sanctions resolutions?

Wouldn't this be considered missile technology under UN sanctions resolutions?

No it is unti air. They can't use it to hit Israel.
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Wouldn't this be considered missile technology under UN sanctions resolutions?
Behrou jAn,
AA missiles is considered as Defensive Weapons and don't fall under sanctions rules.

Thanks for the clarification gentlmen.
So, what are your thoughts on this Rasoul jaan, is it all worth it? I think I remember you saying a while back that these systems aren't fool proof and if they're not set-up properly and in great numbers, they become ineffective, not to mention succeptible to Aerial attack . And I think you were even talking about the S-300 which by the looks of it is much more advanced than this Chinese equivalent. Is this just a waste of time and money?

Is this just a waste of time and money?

For Iranian nation, more than likely. For Sepah and aghazadeh's making huge commissions from these deals, its another opportunity to steal countless amounts of $$$$$.

Thanks for the clarification gentlmen.
So, what are your thoughts on this Rasoul jaan, is it all worth it? I think I remember you saying a while back that these systems aren't fool proof and if they're not set-up properly and in great numbers, they become ineffective, not to mention succeptible to Aerial attack . And I think you were even talking about the S-300 which by the looks of it is much more advanced than this Chinese equivalent. Is this just a waste of time and money?
i was talking about Iranian air defense system back then, which was quite effective but the umbrella didn't cover the whole sensitive aerospace (batteries protecting radius not being overlapped) which created many penetrable passages. Also many Iranian air defense system were/are not immune to ECM (electronic counter measure) and anti-radiation weaponry (you turn your radar on then there will be an anti-radiation missle coming your way).
But Chinese HQ-9 (FD2000 for export designation) is different, many features from American Patriot (acquired from Israelis) and Russian S-300, PMU 1 and 2 make it far better air-defense weapon than our present AA assets.
I just said capability wise it is not in par with S-300 and variants, I didn't mean to imply it is useless.
Here is my stance on these issues: What ever makes my countrymen to sleep in peace at night I'm all for it.

For Iranian nation, more than likely. For Sepah and aghazadeh's making huge commissions from these deals, its another opportunity to steal countless amounts of $$$$$.
R.T jAn,
Although your comment is very close to reality, if these air-defense system get deployed in Iran still worth it.
IMHO there will be no attack on Iran from any nation in the world any time soon but Iranians under 24/7 regime propaganda might not feel that way. They need to sleep in peace at night and presence of an effective air defense system will facilitate it more.

Here is my stance on these issues: What ever makes my countrymen to sleep in peace at night I'm all for it.

Thank you Rasoul jaan. That's a great way to look at it. :chekerim:

<table bgcolor="#ffffff" border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><th colspan="2" align="left">China is Iran's leading trade partner </th></tr> <tr><td colspan="2"> TEHRAN, May 10 (Mehr News Agency (http://www.mehrnews.com/en/)) -- China is Iran's leading trade partner in Asia, but both countries still seek to expand their economic relations, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said on Sunday.
"China is currently Iran's main economic partner in Asia and also Iran's third leading trade partner in the world," he said at the Iran-China trade cooperation conference in Tehran.
Mottaki noted that the level of trade between the two countries increased from $400 million in 1994 to $29 billion in 2008 and said this shows Tehran-Beijing economic relations have grown at an average annual rate of 40 percent over the past few years.
The economic power of countries is the most important factor in all regional and international equations, and China, with the world's fourth strongest economy and total foreign trade exchanges of $2 trillion in 2008, has a very significant role, he added.
He went on to say that Iran's position in the manufacturing sector and its substantial share of the energy market as well as the recognition of Iran's markets and its growing industrial centers have made the country a regional power.
However, Iran and China have yet to fully exploit their economic potential in various spheres, he said.
"Iran's trade with China must be improved, and this objective will not be achieved without the assistance of the non-governmental sector," the Iranian foreign minister pointed out.
Mottaki said that a number of steps must be taken to improve Iran-China trade relations, such as signing customs agreements, coordinating the two countries' import-export regulations, removing financial and banking obstacles, and establishing legal arbitration boards.
Meanwhile, the Chinese ambassador to Tehran, Xie Xiaoyan, said here on Sunday that Beijing is determined to expand its trade with Tehran.
"The Chinese Embassy in Tehran will continue working with Iranian companies in order to expand cooperation between the two countries," he said at the Iran-China trade cooperation conference.
The Iranian ambassador to Beijing, Javad Mansouri, said Iran and China are expanding their bilateral relations.
Senior Chinese officials have been actively involved in expanding relations with Tehran, and this has paved the way for great achievements, he added.
"There are currently many opportunities in education, research, technology, trade, and joint investment for businessmen from both sides," Mansouri stated.
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