The Fajr-4 ( fa, فجر-۴) is an

Iranian Iranian may refer to: * Iran, a sovereign state * Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran * Iranian lan ...

air-to-surface An air-to-surface missile (ASM) or air-to-ground missile (AGM) is a missile designed to be launched from military aircraft at targets on land or sea. There are also unpowered guided glide bombs not considered missiles. The two most common prop ...

guided

rocket A rocket (from it, rocchetto, , bobbin/spool) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using the surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely fr ...

that was first unveiled on 9 May 2020 through a video released by the

IRGC Aerospace Force The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force or Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Air and Space Force (IRGCASF; fa, نیروی هوافضای سپاه پاسداران انقلاب اسلامی, niru-ye havâfazây-e sepâh-e pâsdârâ ...

. In the video, the missile is seen undergoing a

drop test A drop test is a method of testing the in-flight characteristics of prototype or experimental aircraft and spacecraft by raising the test vehicle to a specific altitude and then releasing it. Test flights involving powered aircraft, particularly ...

from a

Sukhoi Su-22 The Sukhoi Su-17 (''izdeliye'' S-32) is a variable-sweep wing fighter-bomber developed for the Soviet military. Its NATO reporting name is "Fitter". Developed from the Sukhoi Su-7, the Su-17 was the first variable-sweep wing aircraft to enter ...

fighter-bomber A fighter-bomber is a fighter aircraft that has been modified, or used primarily, as a light bomber or attack aircraft. It differs from bomber and attack aircraft primarily in its origins, as a fighter that has been adapted into other roles, wh ...

. Videos released of Supreme Leader,

Ayatollah Ayatollah ( ; fa, آیت‌الله, āyatollāh) is an Title of honor, honorific title for high-ranking Twelver Shia clergy in Iran and Iraq that came into widespread usage in the 20th century. Etymology The title is originally derived from ...

Seyyed Ali Khamenei Sayyid Ali Hosseini Khamenei ( fa, سید علی حسینی خامنه‌ای, ; born 19 April 1939) is a Twelver Shia ''marja and the second and current Supreme Leader of Iran, in office since 1989. He was previously the third president o ...

, paying a visit to an IRGC Aerospace Force suggest that Iran had already armed its Sukhoi Su-22's with a new air-to-surface missile.

Characteristics

The

Artillery rocket Rocket artillery is artillery that uses rocket (weapon), rocket explosives as the projectile. The use of rocket artillery dates back to medieval China where devices such as fire arrows were used (albeit mostly as a Psychological warfare, psycholo ...

has a

caliber In guns, particularly firearms, caliber (or calibre; sometimes abbreviated as "cal") is the specified nominal internal diameter of the gun barrel Gauge (firearms) , bore – regardless of how or where the bore is measured and whether the f ...

of 333 mm, uses

command guidance Command guidance is a type of missile guidance in which a ground station or aircraft relay signals to a guided missile via radio control or through a wire connecting the missile to the launcher and tell the missile where to steer to intercept its ...

and has maneuvering fins. The missile has two variants, Fajr-4 and Fajr-4CL. The IRGC has not provided further details of the missile.

References

21st-century surface-to-air missiles Air-to-surface missiles of Iran Fajr family of rockets Guided missiles of Iran Air-to-surface missiles Weapons and ammunition introduced in 2020 {{Missile-stub