What to know about Iran’s ballistic and cruise missiles, and its military capability?
Tehran says its ballistic missiles are a deterrent and retaliatory force
Dubai: On Tuesday, Israel faced a barrage of missiles from Iran, marking the second direct strike this year. The first occurred on April 13, when Iran launched 300 drones and missiles in a coordinated assault at Israel, inflicting only minimal damage.
The April attack came two weeks after an air strike blamed on Israel against Iran’s diplomatic mission in Damascus levels the embassy’s consular annex. It killed seven Revolutionary Guards, two of them generals.
On Tuesday, the Israeli military said Iran fired more than 180 ballistic missiles directly at the country, an escalation in the battle between the Middle Eastern rivals fought mainly so far through proxies. Most of the missiles were intercepted by Israeli air defences or by allied air forces before they reached Israel.
The attack follows the Israeli killing of Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah, a key ally of Tehran, and the initiation of an Israeli ground incursion into southern Lebanon.
What to know about the Iranian missile range?
The semi-official Iranian news outlet ISNA in April published details of missiles it said could reach Israel.
These included the Sejil, which is capable of flying at more than 10,500mph (about 16,900km) with a range of 1,550 miles (2,494km) and Shahab 3 that can reach a target 2,000km away (1,242 miles).
The Kheibar has a range of 1,240 miles (1,995km) — while the Haj Qasem can reach targets 870 miles (1,400km) away.
Iran says its ballistic missiles are a deterrent and retaliatory force against the US, Israel and other potential regional targets.
Last August, Iran said it had built an advanced homemade drone named Mohajer-10 with an operational range of 1,240 miles (1,995km).
It can fly for up to 24 hours with a payload of up to 300kg, the Iranians claimed.
Does Iran possess hypersonic ballistic missiles?
Last year, Iran displayed what officials described as its first domestically-made hypersonic ballistic missile, the official IRNA news agency reported.
Hypersonic missiles can fly at least five times faster than the speed of sound and can take a complex trajectory, making them difficult to intercept.
The Arms Control Association, a Washington-based non-governmental organisation, says Iran’s missile programme is largely based on North Korean and Russian designs.
It says Iran’s short-range and medium-range ballistic missiles include Shahab-1, with an estimated range of 190 miles.
Iran has cruise missiles such as Kh-55, an air-launched nuclear-capable weapon with a range of up to 1,860 miles (2,993km).
An advanced anti-ship missile, the Khalid Farzh, with an approximate range of 186 miles, is capable of carrying a 1.1-tonne warhead.
What are Israel’s air defences?
Israel has a sophisticated system of air defences, the most well known of which is the Iron Dome. It is designed to intercept short-range rockets of the sort fired by Hamas and Hezbollah.
While it was used to defend against some elements of Iran’s last attack in April, other elements of the country’s “layered” defence systems likely did the bulk of the work on Tuesday.
David’s Sling = a joint US-Israeli manufactured system - is used to intercept medium to long-range rockets, as well as ballistic and cruise missiles. And when it comes to long-range ballistic missiles, which fly outside the earth’s atmosphere, Israel has the Arrow 2 and Arrow 3 interceptors.
What is IRGC?
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) that was set up after the 1979 Islamic Revolution is the dominant branch of the Iranian Armed Forces.
The IRGC was established to provide extra protection for the new regime and to act as a counterweight to the regular armed forces.
It reports directly to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The IRGC has an estimated 125,000-strong military with army, navy and air units - some analysts believe the figure is far higher.
It also commands the Basij religious militia, a volunteer paramilitary force loyal to the establishment and which is often used to crack down on anti-government protests.
Analysts say Basij volunteers may number in the millions.
What are IRGC’s capabilities?
The IRGC has ground, air and naval capabilities — and oversees Iran’s ballistic missile programme, regarded by experts as the largest in the Middle East.
It has used the missiles to hit militants in Syria and northern Iraq.
The US, European nations and Saudi Arabia blamed Iran for a 2019 missile and drone attack which crippled the world’s biggest oil processing facility in Saudi Arabia.
What's global ranking of the militaries?
According to the Global Firepower Index 2024, the Israeli and Iranian militaries are not too far apart in terms of overall military power.
Iran is ranked 14th in the global ranking, followed by Israel in 17th place.
The index has also included a direct comparison of the two armed forces. According to this, Iran is superior to Israel in terms of personnel. The same also applies to the number of tanks and armed vehicles.
However, given the geographical situation, these are not the most relevant factors in case of an armed conflict.
The countries are separated by neighbouring countries such as Iraq and Jordan, and the distance between Jerusalem and Tehran is around 1,850km (1,149 miles).
“In fact, a conflict would not take the form of a classic war, but would rather be an exchange of blows over long distances,” said Fabian Hinz, Middle East expert at the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies, or IISS.
An armed conflict between Israel and Iran would primarily be conducted by air, he told Germany's DW News.
How important is Air forces’ role?
Israel is clearly superior to Iran in terms of air power, according to the Global Firepower Index. In total, the Israeli army is equipped with 612 fighter jets, while Iran has 551.
Beyond the figures, it’s also the quality of the military aircraft that matters, Hinz said.
In case of a conflict, aviation will play a very important, perhaps even the decisive role for Israel, he said.
“On the Iranian side, however, aircraft do not have a noteworthy significance, as it has hardly been possible to renew the fleet due to sanctions,” he said, adding that Iran was able to buy some aircraft in the 1990s and would now like to acquire some Russian-made planes.
How are ballistic missiles different from cruise missiles?
Flight Path: Ballistic missiles are launched directly into the upper atmosphere and follow a parabolic trajectory, primarily driven by gravity. After reaching their peak altitude, they descend towards their target.
Speed: They can travel at very high speeds, often exceeding Mach 5 (five times the speed of sound) during descent.
Range: They can have long ranges, from a few hundred kilometers to over 10,000 kilometers, depending on the type.
Guidance: Ballistic missiles are typically less maneuverable once they enter their ballistic flight path. They rely on initial guidance during launch and may have some terminal guidance capabilities.
Payload: They can carry conventional or nuclear warheads.
Cruise missiles' flight path: Cruise missiles fly at lower altitudes and follow a more level flight path. They are powered throughout their flight and can maneuver to avoid obstacles and air defenses.
Speed: Cruise missiles generally fly slower than ballistic missiles, typically at subsonic or supersonic speeds, although some advanced models can reach hypersonic speeds.
Range: Their range varies widely but generally is shorter than that of ballistic missiles, typically from a few hundred to several thousand kilometers.
Guidance: Cruise missiles use advanced guidance systems (like GPS, terrain mapping, and inertial navigation) to accurately hit specific targets.
Payload: They can also carry conventional or nuclear warheads.