Majid Short-Range Air Defense System: Technical Specifications, Range, and the Karrar Drone Project

Full Description

The “Majid” low-altitude air defense system (known by the code AD-08) is Iran’s most advanced point-defense and short-range missile system, designed to destroy various types of drones, cruise missiles, helicopters, and micro-drones. This system is entirely electro-optical and passive, meaning it emits no radar waves whatsoever and uses advanced thermal cameras and an Imaging Infrared (IIR) seeker to track and destroy targets with high precision at ranges up to 8 kilometers and altitudes from 20 meters to 6 kilometers. A variant of it has also been mounted on the Karrar jet drone (Project Rasoul).

In modern air defense architecture, even the most advanced strategic and long-range systems require support from lower tiers to prevent the infiltration of micro-drones, modern loitering munitions, low-flying cruise missiles, and attack helicopters. Drone and cruise missile attacks pose major challenges for classical radars due to their small radar cross-section (low RCS) and flight in the lowest atmospheric layers. The defense industries of the Islamic Republic of Iran have provided a decisive, indigenous response to this challenge by designing and producing the Majid short-range air defense system (AD-08).

Technical Specifications and Architecture of the Majid System (AD-08)

1. Fully Electro-Optical and Passive Architecture

One of the most prominent features of the Majid system, also highlighted in analytical reports by IRNA, is its complete reliance on electro-optical systems.

• While most air defense systems depend on active radars to detect and track targets, the Majid system utilizes advanced thermal cameras and day/night optical sighting systems.
• This feature ensures that the system emits no radar waves of its own; consequently, it remains completely invisible to enemy aircraft and missiles, rendering it virtually impossible to target with anti-radiation missiles.

2. Missile Specifications and Operational Range

The Majid defense missile features compact dimensions, high speed, and remarkable maneuverability:

• Engagement Range: From 700 meters to 8 kilometers.
• Engagement Altitude: Operational coverage from 20 meters up to 6 kilometers in altitude above ground level.
• Guidance System: Equipped with a proximity-fuzed warhead and an advanced thermal/Imaging Infrared (IIR) seeker that automatically guides the missile toward the hot spots and engines of target vehicles.
• Weight and Dimensions: The overall weight of the missile is approximately 75 kilograms, featuring a 14-kilogram fragmentation warhead that produces a lethal volume of shrapnel upon detonation.

Revolutionizing Air Defense with “Project Rasoul” and Integration with the Karrar Drone

One of the key innovations in deploying the Majid system was the development of the airborne air defense concept under “Project Rasoul,” executed in 2023 by the air defense forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army.

The Karrar Drone Equipped with the Majid Missile

According to official news and reports from IRNA and Fars News Agency, Majid defense missiles were mounted on Karrar jet drones during drills and official inductions.

• This integration allows the country’s air defense to utilize unmanned aerial platforms—rather than ground-based launchers—to intercept targets deep in the skies before they approach national borders.
• Successful firings of the Majid missile from the Karrar drone during specialized air defense exercises of the Army (including the “Velayat Sky Guardians 1402” drills) generated extensive coverage in global military media.

Conclusion

The Majid short-range missile system (AD-08) demonstrates the complete maturity and self-sufficiency of Iran’s defense industries in the realm of point-defense and low-altitude air defense. By combining passive electro-optical technology, high mobility, a precise warhead, and the innovative capability of being mounted on Karrar jet drones via Project Rasoul, this system has established itself as one of the country’s most reliable and efficient defensive shields against micro-drones and cruise missiles.