IRGC Unveils New Missile with HGV Warhead
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Aerospace Force unveiled a new version of the ‘Fattah’ ballistic missile equipped with a hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV) warhead.
The sophisticated homegrown missile was put on display during a visit that Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, the Commander-in-Chief of the Iranian Armed Forces, paid to an exhibition of achievements of the IRGC Aerospace Force in Tehran on Sunday.
The first version of Fattah with a range of 1,400 kilometers was unveiled in June.
The warhead of Fattah-I has a spherical engine running on solid fuel with a movable nozzle that allows the missile to move in all directions.
Fattah-II, however, has been furnished with an HGV warhead that can maneuver and glide at hypersonic speed.
An HGV warhead allows the ballistic missile to significantly change its trajectory after launch.
The glide vehicle can reach a speed of Mach 5 to 20, depending on its design and utility.
Conventional ballistic missiles follow a predictable ballistic trajectory and are vulnerable to air defense systems. The in-flight maneuverability of HGVs makes them unpredictable, allowing them to effectively evade air defenses.
