This again proves that Iran is a great nation.
also damn happy to see the Chinese YJ-83 missiles on these very nice ships. the blue print of YJ-83 should be provided to Iran so they can independently upgrade/modify it to suit the requirement in the region.
Thanks. I believe China has already provided us with the blueprint. We have two versions of it, the Noor 1 and the Noor 2. The Noor 1 is a direct copy built in Iran and the Noor 2 is an upgraded version:
Noor ASM
The Noor is the bigger brother to the Kowsar. It is the most common missile in the IRGCN’s arsenal and is found on land based launchers, the Thondar and Kaman class missile boats as well as most larger IRIN vessels such as the Alvand and Mowj.
It comes in sets of 4 on each of the respective ships, while two can be fired from the Mi-17 and the F-4, while 4 can be allegedly carried on the Su-24, although no pictures of the latter have been unearthed. Like, the Kowsar, it also comes in two main variants, with a third in development. It is in the same class as the more famous Excocet missile.
The Noor-1, is copy of the C-801, the precursor to the C-802. The larger 165 kg warhead as compared to the Kowsar, means that it is most useful against frigates, cruisers and destroyers such as the ‘Oliver Hazard Perry’ and ‘Ticonderoga’ class of ships found in the USN 5th fleet that patrols the Persian Gulf. The largest ship sunk ever successfully sunk, albeit a test, has 10,000 tons of displacement, which is 2000 pounds greater then the Ticonderoga cruiser, the most formidable of the US destroyers. In the early ‘90’s, Iran received 200 C-801’s along with 8 launchers, at that point Iran began to reverse engineer them under the name “Tondar”, eventually it morphed into the Noor-1 project. In the late ‘90’s, Iran adapted them to fire from an F-4. The guidance and flight profile is presumably the same as the C-802. After cruising speed of mach .9 is achieved through a boost motor, it flies at 20-30 meters cruising altitude. Inertial guidance, as with the Kowsar, guides the missile to the target. When entering terminal phase, the two seeker systems activate, the first is the monopulse active radar much like the radar in the Kowsar, the second is an IR seeker that was originally squeezed into the large housing of the original missile as an after market addition, however its usefulness soon led it to become standard equipment. A sharp drop then happens, from 20-30 metres to 5-7 meters above the sea level, maintained by the radio or laser altimeter. This has the advantage of making it near invisible to the target ship because it is below the detection range, especially combined with the integrated jamming capabilities and low radar signature. The missile is driven with kinetic energy through the hull where a delayed fuze allowing the missile to explode within the target vessel. (5)(6)
Noor 1
• Range: 40 km
• Length: 6.5 m
• Missile Weight: 715+ kg
• Warhead: 165 kg
• Speed: .9 mach
• Guidance: Inertial in cruise with monopulse active radar and IR Seeker in terminal
The Noor-2 replaced the original solid fuel rocket of the Noor-1 with a much more powerful turbojet. However the actual range gained is somewhat contentious, some use set figure of 120 km found on the C-802(on which the Noor-2 is a loose copy of). However some cite the domestic modifications to the Microturbo TRI 60-2 powerplant as evidence that the range was extended, and in 2006, during the ‘Blow of Zolfaqar’ wargames, commanders were quoted as saying it was 200 km. However the latter number is cast into doubt when the rest of the article mentions that the missile was only ever fired from warships, whereas in 1997, the Noor-1 was tested from an F-4. (7) The most likely range is somewhere around 170 km as it fits in line with the upgrades and domestic production of the turbojet, under the name of Tolloue 4 and 5.(8) Although the missile is overall lighter then the Noor-1 due to reduction in the solid fuel, the warhead remains the same packing the same punch, as do the targeting mechanisms remain unchanged. There are several key changes however. First, in the terminal phase, an upgraded altimeter allows the missile to hug the water closer, staying 3-5 meters above the surface. Second, the option of having a ‘pop-up’ attack pattern was also introduced by Chinese partners in 2006. A ‘pop-up’ pattern involves an immediate jump by the missile in the last few seconds allowing the missile to dive deep into the deck of the target. Third is the introduction of manoeuvring algorithms to make it harder for active ship defences to stop the missile. (9)
Noor 2
• Range: 170 km (140-200 km possible)
• Length: 6.5 m
• Missile Weight: 715+ kg
• Warhead: 165 kg
• Speed: .9 mach
• Guidance
o Cruise: Inertial
o Terminal: DM-3BMonopulse active radar and IR Seeker
• Alterations
o Turbojet engine
o Lower altitude in terminal phase
o Introduction of manoeuvring and ‘pop-up’ attack options
The Arkenstone: Naval Weapons - Anti-Ship Missiles - The Kowsar, Noor and Raad
