China-Made Air Defense Systems Fail Combat Test in Iran

Questions are mounting over the combat effectiveness of Chinese-made air defense systems deployed in Iran after they failed to intercept large-scale airstrikes by the United States and Israel. Analysts say the credibility of Chinese weapons systems will inevitably suffer, given that similar failures occurred in Venezuela.

According to Taiwan's Newtalk and Hong Kong's South China Morning Post on the 3rd, Iran deployed China's fourth-generation mobile radar YLC-8B alongside Russian air defense networks at key locations including the capital Tehran. China first unveiled the equipment at the 2016 Zhuhai Airshow, claiming it could detect U.S. F-22 and F-35 stealth fighters from 250 kilometers away.

The Chinese-made long-range surface-to-air missile HQ-9B operated by Iran also failed to prove its capabilities. China has stated that this missile, with a range of 250 kilometers, features active radar guidance and infrared seekers capable of intercepting stealth aircraft even in electronic warfare environments. China also provided Iran with its indigenously developed Beidou satellite navigation system to replace U.S. GPS.

However, combat results told a different story. While Israel scrambled some 200 fighter jets and the U.S. struck more than 1,000 targets with B-2 stealth bombers and Tomahawk cruise missiles, Iran failed to shoot down a single aircraft. Taiwan's FTV reported, citing experts, that despite Iran pouring enormous costs into Chinese radar systems, they failed to function properly during both last year's nuclear facility attack and this year's large-scale airstrikes.

India's Times of India reported that analysts are investigating whether the Chinese air defense systems have technical defects or were simply overwhelmed by the sheer volume of the U.S.-Israeli coalition's offensive. Observers note that having failed to defend critical facilities, the systems will inevitably lose competitiveness in export markets.

This is not the first combat failure for Chinese radar. In January this year, China's JY-27A radar in Venezuela also failed to detect U.S. military aircraft. China had emphasized the radar's stealth target detection capabilities and jamming resistance, but it failed to track aircraft deployed for the operation to arrest former President Nicolás Maduro.

Dennis Wilder, a professor at Georgetown University, told SCMP that "the U.S. and Israel demonstrated overwhelming superiority in electronic and cyber warfare, intelligence gathering, and integration of land, sea, air, and space assets." He assessed that China lags behind the U.S. by a decade in advanced military technology.