TEHRAN, August 22. /TASS/. Iran will not need additional air defense systems after getting from Russia the S-300 anti-aircraft missile defense systems and commissioning Iran’s similar system Bavar (Belief) 373. Therefore, Iran's Ministry of Defense intends to focus on negotiations with Russia on the purchase of the Sukhoi aircraft, Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehghan told Iran’s TV on Sunday evening.

"We don’t need other long-range air defense systems, (in addition to the S-300 and Bavar-373), we no longer plan to purchase them. Therefore, the Iranian Defense Ministry’s agenda includes consultations with Russia on the purchase of Sukhoi aircraft. We need to strengthen our Air Force," he said.

According to him, complex tests of the Bavar-373 air defense missile system will be held in the near future. "At the request of the President (of Iran Hassan Rouhani), the first test will be intercepting a ballistic missile. If the tests prove successful, the system will go into serial production, and its combat deployment will begin before the end of the year", the minister said.

On Sunday, Tehran hosted an exhibition of achievements of the Iranian defense industry. The exhibition for the first time presented to the general public the Bavar 373 system, which, according to Iranian sources, is an analogue of Russia’s S-300, as well as Iran’s first national turbojet engine that has been named Owj.