Iran's Fancy New Long-Range Missile Can Strike Israel

2015-03-18T20:00:24-04:00

According to Western intelligence agencies, the missile is not capable of carrying a nuclear device due the small size of the weapon’s payload. The missile allegedly has a range of 2,500 to 3,000 km. In the West, this puts all of Turkey, Greece, the Balkan Peninsula, Ukraine, and large parts of Russia within striking distance. In the east, the new weapon’s range extends to Afghanistan, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and parts of Kazakhstan, India and China.

However, IHS Janes’s Defence Weekly is skeptical of the above quoted range of the weapon, which is estimated to have a maximum cruise speed of Mach 0.7. “The assumption that Iran’s Soumar cruise missile has a range of 2,500 km almost certainly overstates the weapon’s performance. Iran would have to use a turbojet engine to power a long-range cruise missile that could be produced without relying on smuggling more efficient turbofans into the country,” their analysis states.

Read more:
http://thediplomat.com/2015/03/irans-fancy-new-long-range-missile-can-strike-israel/

However, there is still considerable debate over the true capabilities of Tehran's new weapon.

Response by CW5 Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 18 at 2015 8:40 PM

2015-03-18T20:40:35-04:00

If you're an Israeli, SSG Norman Lihou, the exact details and specifications are not anywhere near as important as the intentions behind the weapons and the efforts. Iran has made it clear they want to wipe Israel off the face of the earth. When we think of it in those terms, I think it's very easy to "get" where Israel and her leaders are coming from. Can you imagine what it would feel like if a country declared they wanted to wipe out the USA? It's hard for us to imagine, because we're so big and powerful, but still ...

Response by COL Ted Mc made Mar 22 at 2015 2:43 AM

2015-03-22T02:43:06-04:00

As Janes IHS says, it's rather irrelevant whether the missile has a 2,500 mile range or not since most of the places it might be targeted at are much less than 2,500 miles from Iran.

Response by Maj Mike Sciales made Mar 24 at 2015 3:12 PM

2015-03-24T15:12:03-04:00

Don't worry. The Israelis defense forces have the Jericho II missile capable of carrying a 1 megaton nuke 1,500 km. They also have five (5) German made Dolphin class subs, all of them dual-capable so they can run those nukes up the Straits of Hormuz and nail anywhere they want in Iran. They have 100 or more of those missiles. Nothing to worry about.