The Shahin ( fa, شاهین) missile is an Iranian
supersonic
Supersonic speed is the speed of an object that exceeds the speed of sound ( Mach 1). For objects traveling in dry air of a temperature of 20 °C (68 °F) at sea level, this speed is approximately . Speeds greater than five times ...
mid-range
low
to mid-altitude
surface-to-air missile
A surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-aircraft syst ...
. It is an Iranian version of the
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
MIM-23 Hawk
The Raytheon MIM-23 HAWK ("Homing all the way killer") is an American medium-range surface-to-air missile. It was designed to be a much more mobile counterpart to the MIM-14 Nike Hercules, trading off range and altitude capability for a much sm ...
and is thus designed for use with the
Mersad air defense system.
Unveiling and testing
The shahin missiles were developed as part of a domestic weapons program that
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
started in 1992 as a response to increasing
American sanctions against Iran.
The Shahin missiles were first unveiled in April 2010.
They were then tested on November 16, 2010 along with the
Mersad
Mersad (Persian: مرصاد, meaning 'Ambush') is an Iranian low- to mid-range air defense system developed in 2010. It fires Shahin (Falcon) missiles which are reverse-engineered, domestically upgraded versions of the American MIM-23 Hawk surf ...
air defense system during the war games Defenders of the Sky of the Velayat III, the maneuvers were themselves carried out to prepare for a hypothetical
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
i assault on
Iranian nuclear facilities.
The missile was tested again on 13 June 2011
shortly before entering service.
Characteristics
The missile is considered low
to mid-altitude
and mid-range
low
with a range of 70-150
km. The missile is also suggested to be supersonic by various sources.
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
ian sources suggest that the missile is somewhat indigenous
with upgraded
guidance
Guidance may refer to:
Arts and media
* ''Guidance'' (album), by American instrumental rock band Russian Circles
* ''Guidance'' (film), a Canadian comedy film released in 2014
* ''Guidance'' (web series), a 2015–2017 American web series
* "G ...
,
launcher, advanced radar signal processing technology and advanced guidance systems.
Iranians also suggest that it has some
Anti-ballistic missile
An anti-ballistic missile (ABM) is a surface-to-air missile designed to counter ballistic missiles (missile defense). Ballistic missiles are used to deliver nuclear weapon, nuclear, Chemical weapon, chemical, Bioagent, biological, or conventiona ...
capability.
The shahin missile possesses a thin yet
cylindrical
A cylinder (from ) has traditionally been a three-dimensional solid, one of the most basic of curvilinear geometric shapes. In elementary geometry, it is considered a prism with a circle as its base.
A cylinder may also be defined as an infini ...
body with four long chord clipped
delta wings
A delta wing is a wing shaped in the form of a triangle. It is named for its similarity in shape to the Greek uppercase letter delta (Δ).
Although long studied, it did not find significant applications until the Jet Age, when it proved suitabl ...
, an opening at the end also exists which runs from the
boat tail to the middle.
See also
Other Iranian air defenses
*
Sayyad-1
Sayyad ( fa, صیاد, Hunter) is a serie of solid fuel surface-to-air missiles (SAM) manufactured by Iran.
Sayyad-1
Sayyad-1 is the Iranian upgraded version of the Chinese HQ-2 SAM, however it differs from the Chinese versions in guidance a ...
*
Taer-2
The Taer 2 ( fa, طائر, meaning "bird") is an Iranian mid-range radar guided solid fueled surface-to-air missile designed to defend against aerial threats at altitudes of up to 25–27 km (75000 ft) and distances of up to 50 ...
*
Tabas
Tabas ( fa, طبس, also Romanized as Ṭabas), formerly known as Golshan, is the capital city of Tabas County in South Khorasan Province of Iran. At the 2011 census, its population was 35,150, in 9,903 families.
Tabas is located in central Iran, ...
*
Talaash
*
Shalamcheh
Shalamcheh ( fa, شَلَمچه) is a town located in Khuzestan Province, Iran. It is situated on the border with Iraq, north-west of Abadan. The town was one of the main sites of invasion of Saddam Hussein's Iraq in the Iran–Iraq War
The ...
Similar SAMs
*
S-125 Neva
The S-125 ''Neva/Pechora'' (russian: С-125 "Нева"/"Печора", NATO reporting name SA-3 ''Goa'') is a Soviet surface-to-air missile system that was designed by Aleksei Isaev to complement the S-25 Berkut, S-25 and S-75 Dvina, S-75. It has ...
*
MIM-23 Hawk
The Raytheon MIM-23 HAWK ("Homing all the way killer") is an American medium-range surface-to-air missile. It was designed to be a much more mobile counterpart to the MIM-14 Nike Hercules, trading off range and altitude capability for a much sm ...
References
{{Iran missiles
Post–Cold War weapons of Iran
Surface-to-air missiles of Iran
Guided missiles of Iran
Anti-ballistic missiles of Iran
Military equipment introduced in the 2010s