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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Iran test-fires stealth IRBM |
| 2006-03-31 |
| Iran successfully test-fired a missile that can avoid radar and hit several targets simultaneously using multiple warheads, the military said Friday. Gen. Hossein Salami, the air force chief of the elite Revolutionary Guards, did not specify the missile's range, saying it depends on the weight of its warheads. But state-run television described the weapon as "ballistic" — suggesting it's of comparable range to Iran's existing ballistic rocket, which can travel 1,250 miles and reach arch-foe Israel and U.S. bases in the Middle East. "Today, a remarkable goal of the Islamic Republic of Iran's defense forces was realized with the successful test-firing of a new missile with greater technical and tactical capabilities than those previously produced," Salami said on state-run television. It showed a clip of the launch of what it called the Fajr-3, with "fajr" meaning "victory" in Farsi. "It can avoid anti-missile missiles and strike the target," Salami said. [Sigh]. Stealth is not an on/off switch (in spite of a certain really bad movie). I'm willing to believe that they have lowered the radar observability of the booster and maybe the warheads. But, it's not going to be invisible. It just means that the detection range for a given emitter power has gone down. And true low-observable capability requires first-class precision manufacturing. On the Have Blue prototype, one screw being 1/8" above the panel resulted in several orders of magnitude increased cross-section. Think Iran can do better than Lockheed? Plus, any IR-based missile will find the massive head signature one this thing. The Pentagon has spent tens of millions of dollars on working out countermeasures to low-observable missile and aircraft. Does any rational (i.e. not on DU) think that they don't have anything to show for it. This isn't My speciality, but I am a rocket scientists and do work on similar items. He said the missile would carry a multiple warhead, and each warhead would be capable of hitting its target precisely In Washington, State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said the development demonstrates Iran's "very active and aggressive military program" that is worrisome to the world. "I think Iran's military posture, military development effort, is of concern to the international community," Ereli said. "And that concern is shared by many countries in the international community, about Iran's aggressive nuclear weapons program and her parallel efforts to develop delivery systems, both in the field of ballistic missiles and cruise missiles," said Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev. "The combination of extremist jihadist ideology, together with nuclear weapons and delivery systems, is a combination that no one in the international community can be complacent about," he said. Yossi Alpher, an Israeli consultant on the peace process, said the news "escalates the arms race between Iran and all those who are concerned about Iran's aggressive intentions and nuclear potential. Clearly it's escalation, and also an attempt by Iran to flex its muscles as it goes into a new phase of the diplomatic struggle with the U.N. Security Council," Alpher said. Andy Oppenheimer, a weapons expert at Jane's Information Group, said the missile test could be an indication that Iran has MIRV capability. MIRV refers to multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles, which are intercontinental ballistic missiles with several warheads, each of which could be directed to a different target. "From the description, it could be a MIRV. If you are saying that from a single missile, separate warheads can be independently targeted then yes, this is significant," he said. "But we don't know how accurate the Iranians are able to make their missiles yet, and this is a crucial point," Oppenheimer said. MIRV = Multiple Inaccurate Reentry Vehicle "If the missile is adaptable for nuclear warheads, then they are well on the way," he added. "But they have not made a nuclear warhead yet. The current estimates are it could take five years." And the CIA said it would take until the mid-50s for the USSR to develop The Bomb. The existing rocket is the Shahab-3, which means "shooting star," and also is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. Israel and the United States have jointly developed the Arrow anti-ballistic missile system in response to the Shahab-3. Last year, former Defense Minister Ali Shamkhani said Tehran had successfully tested a solid fuel motor for the Shahab-3, a technological breakthrough in Iran's military. About where we were 45 years ago. Salami said Friday the Iranian-made missile was test-fired as large military maneuvers began in the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea. The maneuvers are scheduled to last a week and will involve 17,000 Revolutionary Guards as well as boats, fighter jets and helicopter gunships. |
| Posted by:Jackal |
| #1 Yep, Iran once more proves, undeniably + unconditionally, by this test that its desire for a nuclear program is peaceful ergo devs a missle that can carry MIRVS/MRVS. The MSM/Left > Its only Uranium, not Plutonium, ergo NO WMDS IN IRAN, ergo GOP-led, Clintonian FASCIST = HALF-A-COMMUNIST LE FEMME NIKITA AMERIKKA MADE YET ANOTHER SIMPLE MISTAKE = WARLIKE IMPERIALISM!? |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2006-03-31 20:59 |