Iran's Ballistic Missiles

 The war of Aggression imposed on Iran in February-March of 2026 by the USA and Israel saw an intense response from the Islamic republic. In the first days of the war, Iran responded with huge numbers of ballistic missiles. As the war goes on, Iran launches fewer missiles in its missile waves. This is due to the fact that the American-Israeli axis are running out of missile interceptors, and Iran is now anticipating a protracted war. As I type this, ballistic missile wave 41 was just launched from Iran at Israeli targets.

Much of the missile tonnage in the 2026 war is so far composed of the older Shahab series of ballistic missiles, which were first developed in the early 2000s. More advanced versions of these missiles, such as the Ghadr and Emad are also being used extensively. The Shahab missiles are liquid fueled, while the upgraded versions are now solid fuel. Solid fuel allows for faster deployment and longer storage time. 

The Shahab family of missiles.

More advanced missiles are now being used in small numbers. These include the Khorramshahr-4, Fattah-1 and Kheibar Shekan. The Khorramshahr-4 uses hypergolic liquid fuel that can be stored for longer periods than conventional liquid fuel. This missile can be equipped with a two ton warhead or cluster munitions. For the past several days as of the publication date, Khorramshahr-4 cluster munitions have rained down on Tel Aviv daily. These missiles all have a range of approximately 1,500-2,000 kilometers.

The Fattah-1 and Kheibar Shekan are newer missiles designed to bypass missile defenses. The Fattah-1 especially is well equipped to do this, as it is hypersonic and maneuverable upon re-entry. The Fattah-1 warhead stage is also equipped with a rocket engine to accelerate it to its target even further. The Kheibar Shekan missile is likewise maneuverable on re-entry thanks to fins attached to the final warhead stage. The Fattah-2 is rumored to be hypersonic, and clearly is designed as a hypersonic glide vehicle. However, its current operational status is unclear. 

Fattah-1 final stage.

Smaller missiles with shorter ranges have yet to be used extensively in this war. Models such as the Fetah-110, with a range of only several hundred kilometers, are no doubt being held back to hit any invading American ground force or ships approaching the nation. It seems that Iran has a stockpile of missile to continue their current barrage rate for weeks, if not months, to come.