The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) unveiled a new long-range ballistic missile that can strike targets 1450 kms away with ‘pinpoint accuracy.’
Dubbed ‘Kheibarshekan’ (castle buster) this is among Iran longest range missiles. The unveiling was made during a visit to a missile base of the IRGC Aerospace Force on Wednesdayby Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Hossein Baqeri.
The strategic weapon is a third-generation long-range missile developed by the IRGC. The new missile is propelled by solid fuel and is capable of penetrating missile shields with high manoeuvrability during the landing stage, local media reported
The modified design of Kheibarshekan has reduced its weight by a third compared to the similar missiles, while its preparation time for launch has decreased to one-sixths of comparable missiles.
An accompanying image shows a number Kheibarshekan missiles loaded onto a convey of trucks.
According to the Commander of the IRGC Aerospace Force Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the missile was produced a long time ago and has already been in service for combat operations.
In earlier comments, General Hajizadeh had implied that Iran has the capability to develop missiles with range of 2000 km or more. “The power of our missiles can be seen in the comments of our enemies. No one has forced us to restrict ourselves to the range of 2,000km because we do not talk to anyone about our missile power. It (2,000km range) was our decision and this range is not permanent for us,” General Hajizadeh said in a January 2021 interview with the Arabic-language al-Manar news channel.
The Kheibarshekan missiles and future 2000 km missiles would put US bases in the Middle East as well as targets in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, within the cross hairs of Iran’s missiles.
Credit | Defense World