Iran fires an array of advanced ballistic missiles at Israel

Iran has once again conducted a ballistic missile attack on Israel. We present Tehran's missile capabilities and explain what might have struck the attacked country.

Ballistic missiles are the ayatollahs' primary security policy. Iran has been developing this weapon for about two decades. Initially, the base consisted of Soviet or North Korean missiles, but over time, Tehran began producing its own.

They are hazardous weapons because few anti-aircraft systems can intercept them, which is also very costly for the defending side. The main problem is their very high flight speed, reaching in some cases even Mach 5 (about 5,300 km/h) or more. In Iran’s case, only ballistic missiles with a range exceeding 1,000 km are suitable for attacking Israel.

In the case of an attack on Israel, Iran used its ballistic missiles with a range of over 1,000 km, including Shahab-3, Kheybar-Shekan, Fattah, Ghadr, and Emad. All of them can be launched from mobile launchers, making them difficult to detect and neutralize.

In 2020, Iran was reported to have 50 Shahab-3 missile launchers and several launchers for Ghadr and Emad missiles, but over the past four years, these numbers may have increased several times. The latest estimates of launched missiles include about 200 units, and this type of weapon occupies the entire launcher. It can be assumed that Iran may not have hundreds of missiles, but it may have even a few thousand.

The Iranian ballistic programme's base missile was the old Soviet non-guided Luna-M ballistic missiles, which, after modifications, are produced locally under the name Zelzal. These missiles, about 9 metres long and weighing 3.5 tonnes, were eventually equipped with advanced guidance systems based on inertial and satellite navigation, creating the Fateh family with a range of up to 500 km.

The latest versions of these have an accuracy of about 10 metres and were a catalyst for the production of longer missiles with greater ranges. The first were the Shahab-3 missiles, about 16 metres long. They have a range of 1,300 km and were introduced into service in 2003. Shahab-3 can carry warheads weighing even more than 700 kg. Over time, improved versions of these rockets, such as Ghadr and Emad, were created, with a range of about 2,000 km.

Ghadr and Emad are characterized by the use of MIRV warheads, which allows them to launch warheads targeting different objectives. This forces the defence to use, for example, three anti-missiles for each launched missile. It is worth noting that, just like Shahab-3, these are liquid-fuel constructions. It is more efficient but very corrosive, so rockets cannot be kept ready for launch for a long time and need to be refuelled just before use.

For this reason, solid-fuel engines, which can be kept ready for use for years, are the norm in ballistic missiles. However, the downside is a shorter missile range in the same format and more challenging production. Iran has also mastered this technology, exemplified by the Kheybar-Shekan missile, first observed in 2022, with an estimated range of 1,400 km.

It is worth noting that the remains of all the above three types of missiles have already been found on the territory of Israel or have been recorded during launches in material for Iranian propaganda. Tehran has thus decided to use even its newest missiles in the attack.