Iran's ballistic power at a glance
When the founder and designer of Iran's ballistic power Hassan Tehrani Moghaddam was killed on November 12, 2011 in the explosion of the Bid Kaneh barracks, near Tehran, everyone feared a big pause in the development of the ballistics industry but today, nine years later, the Iranian armed forces are equipped with new sophisticated weapons, some of which were designed during the lifetime of the Iranian general.
In 2014, the Hormuz-1 and Hormuz-2 ballistic missiles were unveiled at an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force exhibition.
Operating by solid propulsion, the warheads of these two missiles can be fitted with search radar systems capable of attacking enemy radar sites and aircraft carriers up to a range of 300 kilometers.
In 2015, the Emad ballistic missile, with a range of 1,700 kilometers and the Fateh-313 ballistic missile, with a range of 500 kilometers, were unveiled to the general public.
The Emad runs on liquid fuel and its head has small wings that help it hit its target with greater precision.
The Fateh-313 is the first Iranian missile that operates on composite propellant. This technology allows the missile to have better accuracy as it reduces the tremors caused by engine operation.
The Fateh-313 demonstrated great performance and precision in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) missile attack on the US military base Ain al-Assad in Iraq.
In 2017, the Zolfaghar missile first appeared on screens during a strike against several ISIS terrorist positions in Syria's Deir ez-Zor province. With a range of 700 kilometers, the Zolfaghar, too, operates on composite propellant.
On September 22, 2017, the Khorramchahr ballistic missile was first seen during an armed forces parade held on the occasion of Sacred Defense Week. With a range of 2,000 kilometers, the Khorramchahr is able to carry a head of 1,800 kilograms. It is the most powerful liquid-fueled missile and has the capacity to carry multiple warheads at once.
On August 13, 2018, the Fateh Mobin missile was unveiled during a parade marking National Defense Industry Day.
The Fateh Mobin is a ballistic missile with a range of 700 kilometers. It is a ground-to-ground missile and at the same time a solid-propelled anti-ship missile. During the same year, two other Iranian missiles were unveiled: a new version of Khorramchahr and the Dezful missile.
The new version of Khorramchahr featured a warhead similar to Emad's allowing him to become unmanned.
The Dezfoul missile, with a range of 1,000 kilometers, is of the Fateh family. Running on solid fuel, the Dezfoul was designed and produced by the IRGC Aerospace Force.
On February 9, 2020, the IRGC Aerospace Force unveiled the Raad-500 missile and the Salman space engine.
The Raad-500 missile is an Iranian ballistic missile that is equipped with a progressive composite motor nicknamed Zohair. The Raad-500 is a missile 50% lighter than the Fateh-110 whose body was made of metal; while the range of this new Iranian ballistic missile is over 200 kilometers and its final range is 500 kilometers.
First unveiled in February 2020, the Salman space engine uses an array of sophisticated technologies, including solid propellant, a movable nozzle for flight control and a lightweight carbon fiber casing. Despite its small dimensions, the Salman solid propellant engine appears to perform well in the construction of space launchers. But in many ways, it serves as a demonstrator for technologies crucial to the development of modern long-range missiles, including ICBMs (Intercontinental Missiles). The use of this technology marks a significant development in Iran's regular space program.
The manufacture of the space engine called Salman by the IRGC is an important step before the design of an anti-satellite missile.
The Salman space engine can change direction thanks to the lightweight composite materials used in its body. As a result, this solid rocket propulsion technology allows the craft to travel well beyond the Earth's atmosphere.
Using movable pipe propulsion technology, defensive missiles can be built to engage enemy targets outside of Earth's atmosphere.
On April 22, 2020, Iran launched its first military satellite. The Nour satellite was successfully launched from the Qassed tri-stage launcher which was successfully placed into orbit. The Nour satellite currently orbits the Earth at 425 km. It was a great achievement and a new turning point in the Iranian aerospace industry.
The Nour satellite was responsible for monitoring Iranian oil tankers en route to Venezuela.
The Qassed tri-stage launcher uses a liquid propellant engine on the first stage and a solid rocket Salman engine on the second stage.
But the IRGC's ballistic surprises did not end there.
In the summer of 2020, the IRGC unveiled its underground missile fields during Exercise Grand Prophète-14.
Everywhere in these missile fields, launch pads are concealed under the ground, from where missiles are fired at their targets. During the same exercise, the IRGC showed its box-shaped launchers.
On August 20, 2020, the unveiling of yet another tactical ballistic missile placed Iran's name at the top of the list of countries with long-range tactical ballistic missiles.
The Hajj Qassem ballistic missile, with a range of 1,800 kilometers, is a new member of the Fateh-class missile family. It is a solid-propellant missile with a guided head. Of all the tactical ballistic missiles, Hajj Qassem has the longest range in the world.
Indeed, it is a device which, in view of the various explosive warheads that it can transport, is capable of destroying concrete fortifications or of penetrating, like anti-bunker armaments, targets placed in depth. The Hadj Qassem missile is an optimized version of Zolfaghar.
On the same day, the smallest member of the Fateh Family, which is called the Fath missile, was also unveiled. Not much information has been released about the abilities of the Fath.
In September 2020, the 700-kilometer Zolfaghar Bassir ballistic missile was unveiled during the inauguration ceremony of the National Aerospace Park.
Zolfaghar Bassir is indeed the Zolfaghar missile equipped with an optical finder which allows it to target moving targets including enemy ships.
At the beginning of November 2020, the IRGC revealed its ballistic submachine gun which allows the consecutive fire of several ballistic missiles.
A ballistic submachine gun is made up of several ramps that are linked to each other and installed on a rail. It is used in the underground ballistic cities of the IRGC. Only Emad missiles, with a range of 1,700 kilometers, have always been installed on these ballistic submachine guns. This rail system significantly shortens the time required to prepare ballistic missiles, especially those with liquid fuel, to fire. This new equipment is not only a carrier but also a mobile launch pad. This means that once they reach the hole in the underground ballistic cities, the missiles do not need to be transferred to the ramps and are already ready to be fired.
Nine years after the martyred death of the founder of Iranian ballistic power, Iran continues on the development path and new achievements are unveiled each year to disillusion Iran's enemies.