Iranian missiles possibly transferred to Russia: Details
Photo: Fath-360 (farsnews.ir)
The Fath-360s that Iran could have transferred to Russia are short-range ballistic missiles. The missiles will pose a threat to the Ukrainian Defense Forces near the front line, as well as to settlements at a distance of about 100 kilometers from the border with Russia, according to Bohdan Dolintse, an aviation market development expert.
Fath-360
The Fath-360 is a short-range ballistic missile (30 to 120 kilometers). The Iranians, in turn, position it as an analog of HIMARS. Among other known characteristics:
- missile strike accuracy ranges from 3 to 10 meters;
- the warhead usually weights 50 to 100 kilograms;
- they fly at a very high speed - about 4 mph. This makes it difficult to destroy them.
Because of their high speed, missiles can be shot down by only a limited number of air defense systems, namely, Patriot, NASAMS, or S-300 systems.
"And while the first Patriot and NASAMS have a shortage of launchers and cover large cities, the S-300 has a different problem. There is already a significant shortage of missiles for this system. That is, realizing that, unfortunately, (Russia has this number of missiles - ed.) - about 200, we will most likely not be able to intercept most of these missiles," Dolince adds.
For whom Fath-360 poses threat
Given the short range, the following will be at risk:
- Ukrainian military personnel located near the front line or the border with Russia;
- settlements located at a distance of 100 km from the border with Russia.
"Kherson and Mykolaiv regions are also within the range of these missiles. More distant cities, which are located at a distance of more than 100 km, are usually not included in the radius of destruction of these types of weapons," the expert adds.
Iran's ballistic missiles for Russia
In September, The Wall Street Journal reported that Iran had transferred a batch of ballistic missiles, presumably of short-range, to Russia.
Also in July, it was reported that Tehran had increased production of ballistic missiles and drones after signing a cooperation agreement with Russia.
Meanwhile, the White House said the missile transfer was a dramatic escalation.
