Monday, April 03, 2006

Iranian Missiles

Iran has been in the news over its reported nuclear program. On March 31, 17,000 elite revolutionary guards began naval maneuvers in the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea. Iran tested the Fajr-3 missile that day. The missile is intended to avoid radar and hit several targets with multiple war heads. Iran tested a second missile on April 2 firing a high speed torpedo intended to deter surface and submarine threats to its shipping. The new torpedo, the "hoot" is reported to have a speed of 223 miles per hour. It is reportedly as quick as the world's fastest submarine missile - the Russian made Shkval developed in 1995 - in fact three to four times faster than a normal torpedo. Teheran announced that it would test another missile today and more tomorrow.

Iran already possesses the ballistic Shahab 3 missile that can hit targets within a range of 1,200 miles. This includes Israel. Shahab 3 is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. Iran has invested in a nascent space program. It is still unclear whether these steps represent genuine advances in military technology or are mere gestures of defiance. They are likely however to provoke the United States whose Naval Fifth Fleet is based in the Persian Gulf.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'd be quite surprised if Iran suddenly hits big-time naval/missile technology all of a sudden - considering that its missiles have mostly been re-engineered/modded NK/Soviet ones.
Looks more like posturing - for domestic and American/Western audiences than anything else.

Anonymous said...

Bangalore Guy,

You might well be correct. This said, Iran had access to Russian, Chinese and North Korean technology which it re-engineered. It therefore presents a security concern to Israel.

This said, its naval fleet is outmoded although there is now talk of it "manufacturing" the midget submarine. And its incipient space program is not entirely insignificant.

Best

Anonymous said...

yeh kya ho raha hai, bhaiyo?
how many secular right blogs are there?
have you guys opened a new branch?

Anonymous said...

Anuj

Not yet - at least not to my knowledge. The discussions are ongoing.

Interesting new development. Iran has test fired a third weapon last evening - a torpedo in the strategic straits of Hormuz - the narrow entrance to the Persian Gulf and a vital corridor for oil supplies. It is expected to test a fourth weapon today. These actions could be bluster though. Let's see.

Best

Anonymous said...

Israel will never allow Iran to pose a real challenge to it. This is all bluster. Iran is a decrepit state.

Anonymous said...

Jaffna,
This is what I was alluding to -

http://secular-right.nationalinterest.in/?p=788

Anonymous said...

Anonymous -

With crude price reaching for the sky, one can hardly write off Iran as a decrepit state.

Anonymous said...

Anuj,

I am aware of the site. As I mentioned the discussions are still ongoing. We will keep you updated once a decision is made - either way.

Best regards

Anonymous said...

Jaffna,

I agree it poses a security threat to Israel, but the Shahabs arent reliable and are liquid-fuelled - so if push comes to shove, I would think Israel would have an easier time dealing with them.

The new report seems eerily similar to the ones about Iraq before the invasion, but in this instance, have been put up by Iran and not the West. So while Iran might want some brownie points, I'm not inclined to believe that when they do not have a solid-fuelled missile, they would be able to make something like the Shkval - or if the Russians would sell them that, now.

Anonymous said...

Bangalore guy,

You might be right here.

Best regards

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