THIS SHOULD BE THE STANDARD
For all Iranian Rockets
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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Iran boasts of testing 2nd new missile |
| 2006-04-03 |
| TEHRAN -- Iran said Sunday that it has test-fired what it described as a sonar-evading underwater missile just two days after announcing it fired a new missile that could carry multiple warheads and evade radar systems. The new missile is among the world's fastest and can outpace an enemy warship, Gen. Ali Fadavi of the Revolutionary Guards told state television. Fadavi said only one other country has a missile that moves underwater as fast as the model he described, which he said has a speed of 328 feet per second. State television showed what it described as the missile being fired. "The missile carries a very powerful warhead that enables it to operate against groups of warships and big submarines," he said. He contended that the vessels that would launch the missile are able to evade detection systems but that, "even if an enemy's warship sonar can detect the missile, no warship can escape from this missile because of its high speed." The missile's speed would make it about three or four times faster than a normal torpedo and as fast as the world's fastest known underwater missile, the Russian-made VA-111 Shkval, developed in 1995. It was not immediately known if the Iranian missile was based on the Shkval. The new weapon gives Iran "superiority" against any warship in the region, Fadavi said, in a veiled reference to U.S. vessels in the Persian Gulf. It was not immediately clear whether the projectile can carry a nuclear warhead. Fadavi said that the missile launched Sunday was the result of six years of work. The test, as well as the one described Friday, was part of a week of naval maneuvers in southern Iran along the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman. They involve 17,000 members of the Revolutionary Guards. The news agency IRNA said the maneuvers were intended to display "the country's defensive capabilities." The underwater missile, called the "Hoot," or "whale," could raise concerns over Iran's power in the gulf, a vital corridor for the world's oil supplies and where the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet is based. During Iran's war with Iraq in the 1980s, Iranian ships attacked oil tankers in the waterway. The United States and its Western allies have been watching Iran's progress in missile capabilities with concern. Iran possesses the Shahab-3 missile, capable of carrying a nuclear warhead and hitting U.S. forces in the Middle East. Iran's military show of force follows increasing international pressure over its nuclear program. On Wednesday, the UN Security Council urged Iran to suspend its uranium-enrichment activities and asked the director of the International Atomic Energy Agency to report back on Iran's compliance within 30 days. Iran has refused to comply. The video broadcast Sunday showed crew members on a submarine and described them as preparing to launch the missile. Another film clip supposedly showed it being fired into the water from the deck of a ship. The Revolutionary Guards air force chief called the weapon tested Friday as "a very advanced missile." Iran's envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Aliasghar Soltanieh, told CNN on Sunday that he does not believe that the weapon could carry a nuclear warhead. "The world should not worry because any country has its own self-defense conventional military activities," he said. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #13 Ok Iran, so you've got a fast torpedo. We've got Halliburton. Remember Bam do you? |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2006-04-03 21:47 |
| #12 No surprise here - just more indicia/evidencia that, within the context of defeating America's future GMD, Russia's alleged "real" anti-GMD superweapon is a long-range, standoff underwater weapon capable of extreme self-defense maneuvers, and remote or independent control, and which can "pop-up" like a SLCM/SUBROC near its target or in final attack phase. Iff we were back in WW2, its predecessor would be the famed, but slow-moving, Japanese "suicide" KAITEN? subs. Traditional Cold War, land-based, ICBM strikes, includ MRV/MIRV-capable, MIGHT NOW be relegated to MOSTLY Second-Strike/Follow-On weapons, with post-Cold War priority now given to TERROR = COMMANDO-SAPPER STRIKES, LR Bomber, and UW-Sub = Arsenal Ship-based land- and naval attack!? |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2006-04-03 21:46 |
| #11 an Islamic Torpedo! |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-04-03 21:45 |
| #10 An underwater missile that "can outpace an enemy warship." Would that be a ..... torpedo? |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2006-04-03 21:42 |
| #9 From FT.com: Iran’s war games see oil futures rise by $2 Crude oil prices jumped to their highest level since Hurricane Katrina amid uncertainty about Nigerian supplies and as Iran announced it had tested new weapons during war games in the Strait of Hormuz. |
| Posted by: 3dc 2006-04-03 19:58 |
| #8 But are Iranian engineers capable of reverse-engineering such an advanced weapon? I say yes. The Skval is essentially a 6000lb unguided solid fueled (tech the Iranians also bought from the neo-Soviets) underwater rocket. While it incorporates some neat hydrodynamic theory, there is little high tech manufacturing in it (i.e. sensors, processors, software). The Iranians are more than capable of copying it after disassembling one of them. It does allow small massed fast attack craft to launch ship killers, that cannot be spoofed, from outside the range Phalanx and machine guns. Thus requiring the US Navy to attack them farther out with helicopters or ship's cannon, and maybe Sea Sparrows and IR guided RAM missiles. BTW, an anti-torpedo torpedo. The navy tested one 10 or 15 years ago. I wonder whatever became of it. |
| Posted by: ed 2006-04-03 18:18 |
| #7 Large grain of salt. Big freakin' mountain of salt! |
| Posted by: Chuck Simmins 2006-04-03 16:45 |
| #6 What are people's thoughts on how Iran was able to field this weapon? General Fadavi claims that it took 6 years to produce, which suggests that it was acquired after the 1999 IDEX arms exhibition (where it was aggressively marketed by Russian arms dealers), reversed engineered and indigenously produced. But are Iranian engineers capable of reverse-engineering such an advanced weapon? |
| Posted by: GradStudent06 2006-04-03 16:39 |
| #5 THIS SHOULD BE THE STANDARD For all Iranian Rockets |
| Posted by: BigEd 2006-04-03 15:59 |
| #4 The underwater missile, called the "Hoot," It's a Hoot, all right. Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2006-04-03 13:14 |
| #3 So if the press is reporting this, that means W. can attack anytime, since we know they have them? After all, the press would'nt decieve us or report anything that is just propaganda. |
| Posted by: plainslow 2006-04-03 12:05 |
| #2 Internal consumption. Indication of international support. Hope for last minute change in plans making errors more likely. Faith in Allah. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2006-04-03 11:24 |
| #1 Why 'boast'? Sounds like an attempt to deter attack by US. Previous 'signals' from Teheran seemed to actually be daring/inviting US attack. If that was still the case, why advertise your 'new' ability to inflict major damage on your potential foe? Possibilities: 1) Boast is not true, and is intended to cause US to pursue more difficult attack course. 2) Boast is true, and is indicative of some change in Teheran thinking (if such a word can be used regarding Teheran leadership.) If so, what changed and why? |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2006-04-03 11:03 |