© via REUTERS / WANA NEWS AGENCY
The Iran claims a new one Antischiffsrakete to have developed. This said Mohammad Hossein BagheriGeneral of the Iranian Armed Forces, opposite Tehran Times. Tests have been completed and the missile is now in mass production. Iran claims to be one of only 3 countries in the world that have mastered this technology.
The sea missile is said to be a hypersonic missile trade that with Mach 8 can fly. That’s over 9,800 km/h. According to Bagheri, the rocket would reach this high speed in space before it exact hits her target. This means that enemy aircraft carriers and warships that are 1,500 kilometers from the Iranian coast could no longer feel safe.
Hypersonic missile too fast for defense systems
If this information is actually correct, Iran would have a potential “Aircraft Carrier Killer‘ in the arsenal. Aircraft carriers and their escort ships have several defense systems against sea missiles. For long and medium ranges there are anti-aircraft missiles, for shorter ranges there are automatic cannons like the infamous one Phalanx.
In the future should also laser weapons used to defend against missiles. Also, some ships are equipped with decoys to deflect the missile.
US aircraft carriers would not sink immediately
Due to the high speed of Mach 8, such a sea missile would hardly or not at all be able to be intercepted. With the alleged range of up to 1,500 kilometers, one must assume that the rocket is large enough to carry a warhead of 500 Kilograms to have. Normal warships could be sunk with a direct hit.
A US aircraft carrier in the 100,000 ton class, such as the Nimitz or Gerald R. Ford, would probably not be sunk immediately by such a rocket. However, depending on the hit, the damage could be severe enough to render the ship unable to maneuver or the systems to fail. It would then be an easy target for further attacks with conventional subsonic sea missiles. In theory, however, it is also possible to equip such a hypersonic missile with a nuclear warhead.
Truck based starter
Iran has not said whether the missile will be launched from land, air or water. Based on the choice of words, it can be assumed that Land launch is being used. This is easier to implement technically than a version that is launched from ships or submarines. However, it is conceivable that Iran will be the launcher for the new missile, which is believed to be one Truck has as a base, on a helipad of Containerschiffe is setting up, which Iran has converted into warships. That would increase the range again.
The problem with accuracy
The question is how Iran solved the problem with accuracy. Currently existing hypersonic missiles can only be used against ships to a limited extent. Driving targets must actively participate radar or infrared be detected in order to fly to them. According to experts, at hypersonic speeds, so much heat would be generated that these sensors would be impaired. The rocket would have to go up for the final target approach subsonic speed exchange. That would make them easier for the defense systems to pick up, eliminating the advantage of a hypersonic weapon.
The announcement of mass production of this anti-ship missile also sounds suspiciously like previous Iranian threats. For example, in 2019 Iran said everything within 2,000 kilometers of Iran was within missile range, including US bases and aircraft carriers. The current message sounds almost the same, only that the normal missiles have become a hypersonic weapon.
