Ra'ad () is an Iranian designed and built
subsonic anti-ship cruise missile
An anti-ship missile (AShM or ASM) is a guided missile that is designed for use against ships and large boats. Most anti-ship missiles are of the sea-skimming variety, and many use a combination of inertial navigation system, inertial guidan ...
.
The missile is a
reverse engineered
Reverse engineering (also known as backwards engineering or back engineering) is a process or method through which one attempts to understand through deductive reasoning how a previously made device, process, system, or piece of software accompl ...
and upgraded variant of
China's Silkworm anti-ship missile.
The missile was developed by the state-run
Iran Aviation Industries Organization (IAIO).
Iran reportedly began full production of the Ra’ad in January 2004 and went into service in 2007.
The missile is equipped for ground and ship-launched platforms.
Development
During the
Iran-Iraq War, China supplied Iran with numerous types of missile which included two variants of the
Silkworm
''Bombyx mori'', commonly known as the domestic silk moth, is a moth species belonging to the family Bombycidae. It is the closest relative of '' Bombyx mandarina'', the wild silk moth. Silkworms are the larvae of silk moths. The silkworm is of ...
anti-ship missile, the
HY-2 and
HY-4. Prior to the post-war period, Iran's military was heavily dependent on foreign weaponry supplied mainly by the United Kingdom and the United States. In order to achieve independence and reduce foreign expenditure in the arms sphere, Iran engaged in a campaign of reverse engineering and producing any weaponry it possessed.
The Ra'ad was one of the weapons which Iran reverse engineered.
The Silkworm variant which the Ra'ad is based on exactly is unknown and disputed. However, some sources state that it is based on the HY-2 and others stating that it is based on the HY-4.
It is unknown when the development stage began but it is known that the full production of the missile began in January 2004.
The Ra’ad was successfully test fired on 7 February 2007.
This was confirmed by then Deputy Air Force Commander Ali Fadavi who said: "We have successfully test fired a cruise missile called SSN4, or Raad, hitting targets 300 kilometres away in the Sea of Oman and northern Indian Ocean".
Features
The Ra'ad is an
anti-ship cruise missile
A cruise missile is an unmanned self-propelled guided missile that sustains flight through aerodynamic lift for most of its flight path. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large payload over long distances with high precision. Modern cru ...
that is capable of being launched from both surface and sea platforms. The engine of the Ra'ad utilizes a
solid-propellant booster with a
turbojet
The turbojet is an airbreathing jet engine which is typically used in aircraft. It consists of a gas turbine with a propelling nozzle. The gas turbine has an air inlet which includes inlet guide vanes, a compressor, a combustion chamber, and ...
engine and employs an
inertial navigation system
An inertial navigation system (INS; also inertial guidance system, inertial instrument) is a navigation device that uses motion sensors (accelerometers), rotation sensors (gyroscopes) and a computer to continuously calculate by dead reckoning th ...
and
terminal guidance
In the field of weaponry, terminal guidance refers to any guidance system that is primarily or solely active during the "terminal phase", just before the weapon impacts its target. The term is generally used in reference to missile guidance syst ...
, the exact type of terminal guidance is unknown but ''IHS Jane's Weapons'' states that it is "likely infared imaging or an active radar system." The missile also has sea-skimming capabilities, with the ability to fly at low-altitudes to evade radar detection and missile defences.
Operators
*- The missile was tested in a naval exercise in April 2010, flying 300 km.
The Ra'ad is currently in active service and is primarily deployed along the Persian Gulf and on various naval vessels.
See also
*
Noor
References
External links
CSIS Missile Threat – Ra'ad
{{Weapons of Iran
Post–Cold War weapons of Iran
Surface-to-surface missiles of Iran
Anti-ship cruise missiles of Iran