Iran parades 23 ballistic missiles, unveils new drone with 4,000 km range
Iran has paraded an unprecedented number of ballistic missiles at the start of its Sacred Defense Week which also marked the unveiling of a new kamikaze drone with a range of more than 4,000 km.
“23 ballistic missiles were displayed Saturday, which included 2 Kheibar Shekan missiles, 2 Fatah missiles, 4 Haj Qasem missiles, 2 Qadr H missiles, 2 Emad missiles, 3 Khorramshahr missiles, 4 Sejil missiles and 4 Jihad missiles,” Tasnim news agency reported.
The Jihad is the latest liquid fuel ballistic missile of the IRGC Aerospace Force, which was displayed for the first time in the parade. With a high-explosive detachable warhead, it has a range of 1000 km, it added.
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps also paraded the Shahed-136B, the latest version of the Shahed-136 kamikaze drone, for the first time.
The new military products were showcased at the mausoleum of the late founder of the Islamic Republic, Imam Khomeini, in southern Tehran. The parades were staged to mark the beginning of former Iraqi dictator Saddan Hussein’s invasion of Iran 44 years ago.
The Shahed-136 is a delta-wing shaped, low-observable and low-signature loitering munition with a range of 2,000 kilometers that carries a warhead of 50 kilograms.
The unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) uses an Iranian-made piston engine and has a speed of about 200 km/h.
Other indigenous products put on display in the parade included Kheibar Shekan and Sejjil Iranian solid-fuel medium-range ballistic missiles, Emad liquid-fuel and medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM), Khorramshahr medium-range ballistic missile, Haj Qasem ballistic missile as well as Fattah hypersonic medium-range ballistic missile.
