TEHRAN (Iran News) – Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has unveiled a new ballistic missile with a range of 1,450 kilometers (900 miles), which enjoys high agility and is capable of striking its designated targets with pinpoint accuracy.
The missile, dubbed Khaybar Shekan, was put on display on Wednesday during a ceremony attended by Chief of Staff of Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Bagheri, Commander of the IRGC’s Aerospace Division Brigadier General Amir-Ali Hajizadeh, and a number of other high-ranking military officials and commanders.
The celebration ceremony coincided with celebrations in Iran commemorating the 1979 Islamic Revolution, which overthrew the US-backed Pahlavi dynasty.
Khaybar Shekan is reportedly among third-generation long-range missiles indigenously developed and manufactured by military experts at the IRGC’s Aerospace Division.
The new missile uses solid propellants and is said to be capable of penetrating into missile shields with high maneuverability during its landing stage.
The modern design of Khaybar Shekan has reduced its weight by a third in comparison with similar missiles, and the preparation time to launch the missile has apparently decreased to one-sixths compared to conventional projectiles.
Moreover, the new ballistic missile enjoys considerable agility and high velocity when hitting its targets.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran is consistently improving its missile capabilities to counter aggressors, oppressors, global arrogance as well as murderous Zionists,” Bagheri said during the ceremony, emphasizing that the Islamic Republic will continue the trend both quantitatively and qualitatively.
He highlighted that enemies would not have cared about ethics, humanitarian principles, human rights and widespread condemnation if they could obtain anything other than huge costs and losses out of aggression on Iran.
Bagheri also hailed the “dynamic” deterrent power of the Iranian Armed Forces, saying the country is expanding both its inventory of military hardware and human resources.
A Pentagon study has recently acknowledged Iran’s missile power, saying its arsenal is larger than that of any other Middle Eastern country.
“Iran has an extensive missile development program, and the size and sophistication of its missile force continue to grow despite decades of counter-proliferation efforts aimed at curbing its advancement,” it said.
In comments after unveiling the missile, IRGC Aerospace Force Commander Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh said the materials used in the warhead of Kheibarshekan have increased its explosive power to several times greater than TNT.
He also noted that the preparation time for the launch of the missile has been practically reduced to one-sixth of the average duration.
“With its performance, the missile has extremely increased the power of the missile units of the IRGC Aerospace Force,” the commander added.
Known as a third-generation long-range Iranian missile, ‘castle buster’ is propelled by solid fuel and is capable of penetrating into missile shields with high maneuverability during the landing stage.
The modified design of the missile has reduced its weight by a third compared to the similar missiles.
The advanced missile has been fully designed and manufactured by the local experts of the IRGC Aerospace Force.
Despite decades of Washington-imposed sanctions, Iran has made great achievements in its ballistic missiles program.
Last month, an American political analyst said Iran’s missile program has disrupted the strategic military calculations of the United States in the Middle East, altering the balance of power in a region where Washington has long sought to maintain a military edge.
