The Aerospace Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard displayed a launch pad for two “Raad-500” missiles, during the “Holy Defense Week” exhibition in the capital, Tehran.
26/09/2020
1 minute read
An image grab from footage obtained from the state-run Iran Press news agency on February 9, 2020 shows the unveiling Raad-500 missile, a short-range ballistic missile by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) that they say can be powered by a "new generation" of engines designed to put satellites into orbit. Iran started counting down on February 9, 2020 to the launch of a new scientific observation satellite scheduled within hours, the country's telecommunications minister said. The United States has raised concerns in the past about Iran's satellite programme, describing the launch of a carrier rocket in January 2019 as a "provocation". - RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT - AFP PHOTO / HO / IRAN PRESS NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS FROM ALTERNATIVE SOURCES, AFP IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DIGITAL ALTERATIONS TO THE PICTURE'S EDITORIAL CONTENT, DATE AND LOCATION WHICH CANNOT BE INDEPENDENTLY VERIFIED - NO RESALE - NO ACCESS ISRAEL MEDIA/PERSIAN LANGUAGE TV STATIONS/ OUTSIDE IRAN/ STRICTLY NI ACCESS BBC PERSIAN/ VOA PERSIAN/ MANOTO-1 TV/ IRAN INTERNATIONAL
/ AFP / IRAN PRESS / - / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT - AFP PHOTO / HO / IRAN PRESS NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS FROM ALTERNATIVE SOURCES, AFP IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DIGITAL ALTERATIONS TO THE PICTURE'S EDITORIAL CONTENT, DATE AND LOCATION WHICH CANNOT BE INDEPENDENTLY VERIFIED - NO RESALE - NO ACCESS ISRAEL MEDIA/PERSIAN LANGUAGE TV STATIONS/ OUTSIDE IRAN/ STRICTLY NI ACCESS BBC PERSIAN/ VOA PERSIAN/ MANOTO-1 TV/ IRAN INTERNATIONAL
The Iranian force indicated that “the missile is powered by solid fuel, and manufactured locally with advanced technologies. It uses carbon fibers in its cover and the new Zuhair engine with a structure of non-metallic composite materials.”
They explained, “The use of carbon fibers in the cover of Thunder-500 reduces the pressure and vibration caused by the first moments of the launch, and that it withstands pressure of 100 units of atmosphere, and a temperature of 3000 degrees Centigrad.”
The IRGC said, “This contributes to limiting the radars’ ability to detect it, which makes it able to bypass missile defense systems easily.”
They added, “The other advantage of using carbon fibers is to reduce the weight of the missile and give it a faster speed, and thus increase its range. And compared to the Fateh-110 missile, which used the metallic shell, the Raad-500 weighs half the weight of the Fateh-110 missile. Its range increased from 200 km to 500 km.”
