It’s not every day that you see billboards in Hebrew on the streets of Tehran. Posted in the Iranian capital this week, it reads: “400 seconds to Tel Aviv” in Persian, Arabic and Hebrew. It’s an announcement of the latest missile in Iran’s rapidly expanding arsenal of weapons – the country’s military says it can travel up to 15 times the speed of sound.
The missile is called the Fattah, apparently named after one of the 99 names of God in Islam, which means “giver of victory”. It was unveiled this week as a historic achievement for the Iranian military.
The hypersonic projectile has the ability to “penetrate all air defense missile systems and detonate them,” Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRCG) Aerospace Force Commander Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh said in comments. published by the semi-official Tasnim news agency.
The IRGC says it can move in and above Earth’s atmosphere and has a range of 1,400 kilometers – a distance that includes Israel. Hypersonic missiles are those that can travel at a speed greater than Mach 5, or five times the speed of sound.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant was quick to dismiss the potential threat posed by his country.
“I hear our enemies bragging about the weapons they are developing,” he said in comments published in Israeli media. “For any such development, we have an even better response – whether on land, in the air or in the maritime arena, including defensive and offensive means.”
Iran’s claims have not been independently verified, but experts say they follow tangible progress in missile development.
Uzi Rubin, founder and former director of the Israel Missile Defense Organization in the country’s defense ministry, has no reason to believe the missile is not real and functional. “The concept is realistic, elegant and viable,” he told CNN .
But he noted that it is not necessarily a major “revolution” in Tehran’s missile capabilities, adding that it is not the first hypersonic missile Iran has designed, although it is a “revolutionary project”. Experts point out that most ballistic missiles can travel at hypersonic speeds.
Alex Vatanka, director of the Iran Program at the Middle East Institute in Washington, DC, said the country has “a long history of making exaggerated claims” when it comes to developing missiles.
“That said, Iran has made great strides in this sector and no one can deny it. Made it to the A list among countries that can produce hypersonic missiles? This is not the case.”
The United States says Iran has the largest ballistic missile force in the Middle East and considers its arsenal one of its “primary tools of coercion and force projection”.
In the past, the Iranians have insisted that their missile program is for defensive purposes only. The Kayhan newspaper, whose editor is appointed by Iran’s supreme leader, said in an editorial this week that the Fattah missile’s aim was also “to show its deterrence in economic and political areas”. Under heavy US sanctions, the country regularly accuses the United States of waging an economic war against it.
difficult to intercept
Since 2017, Iran has carried out five major cross-border ballistic missile strikes in the region, said John Krzyzaniak, research associate at the Wisconsin Nuclear Arms Control Project in Washington, DC.
This includes two attacks against ISIS in Syria and three in Iraq, allegedly targeting US forces, Kurdish militants and Israeli intelligence.
Experts say what distinguishes Iran’s new missile from other Iranian-made projectiles is its maneuverability. It has a movable nozzle which allows it to travel an irregular path, making it difficult to intercept.
“If the Iranian authorities’ claims about the new Fattah missile are true, it will certainly have more maneuverability compared to previous systems,” said Krzyzaniak.
“But it doesn’t accomplish this in the same way as other countries’ hypersonic weapons and likely won’t be maneuverable to the same extent.”
He said Iran’s claims about the Fattah are more credible as the missile is “largely an iteration of an earlier proven technology that Iran developed domestically”.
What does this mean for existing missile defense systems in the Middle East?
Israel has several missile defense systems. Its Iron Dome was designed to protect against short-range rockets, such as those launched from neighboring Gaza or Lebanon. David’s Sling stops mid-range projectiles.
For long-range ballistic missiles, it has the Arrow family of defense systems with an operational range of 2,400 kilometers.
Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates deploy the US-made Patriot missile defense system, and Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates also use the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, which can intercept short- and short-range ballistic missiles. medium range at high altitudes.
The THAAD was used in combat for the first time in January 2022, when a Houthi missile was launched against the UAE.
“It is possible that the Patriot will be able to shoot down a Fattah missile, but it is difficult to say for sure as there are still many unknowns with both systems,” Krzyzaniak points out.
“Reports from Ukraine suggest that the Patriot shot down Russian Kinzhal missiles, which are similar to the Fattah in that they can maneuver at high speed.”
He noted, however, that the Patriots deployed in Saudi Arabia failed to shoot down several missiles fired by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen “even though they were not particularly sophisticated”.
“Even a highly capable missile defense system can ‘fail’ if it is in the wrong location, if the radar is in the wrong direction, if the missiles are flying too low to detect, or if there are too many projectiles in a single barrage.”
Gulf Arab countries have long advocated making Iran’s missile program part of Western nations’ talks with Tehran over its nuclear program, arguing that the missiles pose a more direct threat to their security.
However, Iran’s Arab adversaries in the region have recently begun to reconcile with the Islamic Republic, significantly reducing the potential for conflict in the Persian Gulf.
That leaves Israel as the state likely to be most concerned about the Iranians’ new missile.
Rubin, the former Israeli defense official, said he was confident that even if Israel does not have the ability to protect itself now, “we will be able to defend against it (in the future).”
Source: CNN Brasil
Bruce Belcher is a seasoned author with over 5 years of experience in world news. He writes for online news websites and provides in-depth analysis on the world stock market. Bruce is known for his insightful perspectives and commitment to keeping the public informed.
