Iran unveils homegrown hypersonic missile
Iran unveiled a homegrown hypersonic missile capable of breaching and destroying all anti-missile shields.
The Fattah missile, manufactured by the Aerospace Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), has a range of 1,400 kilometers and is able to reach Mach 15 – which is 15 times the speed of sound.
The precision-guided missile also features excellent maneuverability and stealth ability to pass through radar systems.
With a solid fuel propulsion system and a second-stage mobile nozzle, the missile has the ability to perform various maneuvers in and out of the Earth’s atmosphere in order to overcome all types of air defense systems.
Hypersonic weapons, which fly at speeds in excess of Mach 5, or five times the speed of sound, could pose crucial challenges to missile defense systems because of their speed and maneuverability.
Addressing the unveiling ceremony, Commander of the IRGC Aerospace Force Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh said Iran is now among only four countries that have the technology to manufacture hypersonic missiles.
Unlike other types of missiles, Fattah cannot be countered by any defense system, he said, adding that the hypersonic missile cannot be destroyed by any missile due to its movement in various directions and heights.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi, who also attended the ceremony, said the country has boosted its deterrence power that now contributes to the security and sustainable peace in the region.
“Some may ask, ‘what is the purpose of manufacturing missiles?’ They are for deterrence, for defense,” he noted.
“We build missiles so that we do not suffer from aggression by enemies, and so that we have such power that the enemies would not even think of an act of aggression against the Islamic Republic.”
Raeisi added, “The defense and missile industries have become indigenous in Iran. As Iran does not import its defense weapons, nothing can threaten to marginalize this advanced industry.”
Raeisi further said that the Islamic Republic started attempts to become independent in the defense sector during the Iraqi-imposed war in the 1980s that saw the bombardment of many Iranian cities.