Iran's aid to Russia: How accurate ballistic missiles intensify the Ukrainian crisis
As detailed by Reuters, from January 2023, around 400 Iranian ballistic missiles from the Fateh-110 and Zolfaghar families have made their way to Russia. They are substantially more accurate than the missiles procured from North Korea: the KN-18, KN-23, KN-24, and KN-25.
This supply of missiles enables Russia to maintain its rocket attacks on Ukraine despite not having the production capacity. This places pressure on the Ukrainian anti-aircraft and missile defense systems, as the missile stocks for both the S-300P and S-300W systems are either extremely limited or entirely depleted.
On the other hand, the few Patriot (three) and SAMP/T (one) batteries supplied by the West appear inadequate to protect all strategic objects. Only medium-range systems possess the capability to shoot down ballistic missiles, which, upon descending from high atmospheric layers, can reach speeds of up to Mach 7 (around 7197 km/h).
Iran's ballistic missiles represent an accurate and significant threat
Iran is alleged to have supplied Russia with missiles from the Fateh-110 and Zolfaghar families. The latter are single-stage solid fuel missiles, approximately 8.8 meters long and weighing around 3.5 tonnes. These have been in development since the 1990s and entered service in 2004. They present an upgrade from unguided Zelzal-2 missiles, which were based on Soviet Luna-M. These missiles included new features such as a satellite and inertial navigation system and elements to correct the missile's flight path.
In the initial versions, the Circular Error Probable (CEP) was roughly 500 meters. Over time, however, the Iranians have shrunk this down to around 10 meters. With a warhead weight of up to 500 kilograms, such a narrow margin of error means the target has little chance of surviving an impact. Typically, the missiles will carry a fragmentation-destroying warhead, but they can also be equipped with either a cluster or chemical warhead.
On the other hand, the Zolfaghar, first revealed in 2016 and later used to attack targets in Syria the following year, is a ballistic missile with an extended range of up to 700 kilometers. It is a longer version of the Fateh-110, with a length of 10 meters and a weight of just over 4 tonnes, and capable of carrying a 500-kilogram warhead. This warhead also detaches from the rest of the missile, making it more difficult to destroy.
