BRKG Iran tests new precision-guided ballistic missile

[Housecarl]

For links see article source.....
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http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/10/11/us-iran-military-missiles-idUSKCN0S505L20151011

Business | Sun Oct 11, 2015 6:21am EDT
Related: World, United Nations, Aerospace & Defense

Iran tests new precision-guided ballistic missile

DUBAI | By Sam Wilkin


Iran has successfully tested a new precision-guided ballistic missile, its defense minister said on Sunday, signaling an apparent advance in Iranian attempts to improve the accuracy of its missile arsenal.

The Islamic Republic has one of the largest missile programs in the Middle East, despite a United Nations arms embargo, but its potential effectiveness has been limited by poor accuracy.

State television showed what appeared to be a successful launch of the new missile, named Emad, which will be Iran's first precision-guided weapon with the range to strike its regional arch-enemy Israel.

"The Emad missile is able to strike targets with a high level of precision and completely destroy them...This greatly increases Iran's strategic deterrence capability," Defence Minister Hossein Dehghan said at a televised news conference.

"Our leadership and armed forces are determined to increase our power and this is to promote peace and stability in the region. There is no intention of aggression or threats in this action," he added.

The Islamic Republic is wary of a potential pre-emptive strike on its nuclear sites by Israel. In turn, Israel fears that a nuclear agreement Iran sealed with world powers in July may be insufficient to stop Tehran developing an atomic bomb.

The accord curbs proliferation-prone aspects of Iran's nuclear energy program in exchange for crippling sanctions being lifted. Iran says its nuclear activity is wholly peaceful. Israel is widely presumed to have the Middle East's only nuclear weapons.


ACCURACY

Anthony Cordesman, a researcher at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, wrote in January that the Emad would have a range of 1,700 km (1,060 miles), 500 meters (1,650 feet) accuracy and a 750 kg (1,653 pound) payload.

It is a variant of the liquid-fuelled Shahab-3 missile, which has been in service since 2003 and has a similar range but is accurate only to within 2,000 meters.

"The Emad represents a major leap in terms of accuracy. It has an advanced guidance and control system in its nose cone," Israeli missile expert Uzi Rubin said.

In August, Iran unveiled a new short-range missile named Fateh-313 it said also offered improved precision over its predecessor, as part of an apparent drive to boost the accuracy of its missile arsenal.

The Fateh-313 has solid fuel, allowing it to be set up and launched faster than liquid-fuelled missiles, and a range of 500 km -- enough to hit targets in Gulf Arab powers locked in a regional cold war with the Islamic Republic, but not Israel.

Improvements in accuracy could let Iran use its missiles in a wider variety of roles, for example by targeting military bases or economic assets rather than population centers.

The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), a British-based think tank, noted in 2010 that poor accuracy meant Iran could use its missiles only as a "political weapon" to target enemy cities since their military utility was "severely limited".


(Reporting by Dubai newsroom and; Dan Williams in Jerusalem; Writing by Sam Wilkin; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

 

[Housecarl]

For links see article source.....
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http://www.timesofisrael.com/iran-tests-new-long-range-missile/

Iran tests new long-range missile

Imad ballistic weapon said to have guidance system enabling control until it hits target

By AFP and AP October 11, 2015, 1:42 pm

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran announced Sunday it had successfully tested a new domestically produced long-range missile, which it said was the first that could be guided all the way to targets.

The defense ministry posted pictures of the launch of the missile, named Imad, on its website but no details were given about its maximum range or other capabilities.

“This is Iran’s first long-range missile that can be guided and controlled until hitting the target,” Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan was quoted as saying.

The launch comes months after some Iranian officials voiced concern that the Islamic republic’s recent nuclear deal with world powers could place limits on its missile program.

Dehghan said mass production of missile would be followed by supplies of the weapon to the Iranian military, the semi-official Press TV reported.

A United Nations Security Council resolution adapted a few days after the nuclear agreement bars Iran from developing missiles “designed to carry nuclear warheads.”

“We don’t seek permission from anyone to strengthen our defense and missile capabilities,” Dehghan said.

Iran has said its missiles would never carry a nuclear warhead as it has no plans to develop atomic weapons, but military officials have insisted on expanding the country’s missile program.

The deal reached with Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States aims to limit Iran’s nuclear program in return for lifting international sanctions.

Since 1992, Iran has emphasized a self-sufficient and indigenous military production industry, producing missiles, tanks and light submarines. The government frequently announces military advances which cannot independently verified.

The Islamic Republic already claims to have surface-to-surface missiles with a range of 2,000 kilometers (1,250 miles) that can hit Israel and US military bases in the region.

 

[JohnGaltfla]

Wait until their next test; a launch vehicle which will carry a large satellite into orbit, a precursor for a functional ICBM reaching all of Europe and the US.

 

[GreenGecko]

Iran TV:

 

[mzkitty]

Well, DUH. What did anyone expect?



2m
Iran tests new precision-guided ballistic missile in defiance of United Nations ban - @Reuters

Updated: October 11, 2015 23:13 IST

Dubai: Iran tested a new precision-guided ballistic missile today in defiance of a United Nations ban, signalling an apparent advance in Iranian attempts to improve the accuracy of its missile arsenal.

The Islamic Republic has one of the largest missile programmes in the Middle East, but its potential effectiveness has been limited by poor accuracy.

State television showed what appeared to be a successful launch of the new missile, named Emad, which will be Iran's first precision-guided weapon with the range to strike its regional arch-enemy Israel.

"The Emad missile is able to strike targets with a high level of precision and completely destroy them ... This greatly increases Iran's strategic deterrence capability," Defence Minister Hossein Dehghan said at a televised news conference.

The UN Security Council prohibits foreign powers from assisting Iran in developing its ballistic missile programme in any way, a ban that will remain in place under the terms of the July 14 nuclear deal that will see other sanctions lifted.


Anthony Cordesman, a researcher at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, wrote in January that the Emad would have a range of 1,700 km (1,060 miles), 500 metres (1,650 feet) accuracy and a 750 kg (1,650 pound) payload.

It is a variant of the liquid-fuelled Shahab-3 missile, which has been in service since 2003 and has a similar range but is accurate only to within 2,000 metres.

"The Emad represents a major leap in terms of accuracy. It has an advanced guidance and control system in its nose cone," Israeli missile expert Uzi Rubin said.

But Michael Elleman, senior fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), said it would probably take Iran "many years... and dozens of flight tests" to master the new guidance technology.

In August, Iran unveiled a new short-range missile named Fateh-313, which it said also offered improved precision over its predecessor, as part of an apparent drive to upgrade the accuracy of its missile arsenal.

"What has become increasingly clear is Iran's desire to enhance missile accuracy and lethality, a priority that very likely supersedes the need for seeking longer-range missiles," Elleman said.

The Fateh-313 has solid fuel, allowing it to be set up and launched faster than liquid-fuelled missiles, and a range of 500 km enough to hit targets in Gulf Arab powers locked in a regional cold war with the Islamic Republic, but not Israel.

Improvements in accuracy could let Iran use its missiles in a wider variety of roles, for example by targeting military bases or economic assets rather than population centres.

The IISS noted in 2010 that poor accuracy meant Iran could use its missiles only as a "political weapon" to target enemy cities since their military utility was "severely limited".



http://www.ndtv.com/world-news/iran-tests-new-precision-guided-ballistic-missile-1230919

 

[Richard]

Iran's military is crap, always has been.

 

[okie-carbine]

we better hurry and give them billions more money

 

[Housecarl]

Iran's military is crap, always has been.

Anthony Cordesman, a researcher at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, wrote in January that the Emad would have a range of 1,700 km (1,060 miles), 500 meters (1,650 feet) accuracy and a 750 kg (1,653 pound) payload.

Per the UN Safeguard Ammunition Technical Guidelines website (http://www.un.org/disarmament/un-saferguard/explosion-danger-area/) that CEP is well within the blast and fragmentation danger zones of that much explosive payload; even half that much has a danger zone that is still within that 500 meter CEP.

So that places this new system if it performs as advertised as "good enough" with a unitary warhead alone and definitely effective if they load it as a cluster bomb unit. All that aside, with a 750 kg payload, it could throw two of "Atomic Annie's" W9 gun type HEU fueled 15 kt yield 11 inch nuclear artillery shells. And that was test shot out of a field gun in 1953!

 

[Vtshooter]

Every time I read something like this about Iran, I think about that "stealth fighter" they made a couple years back, that turned out to be a plywood mockup. So do they really have this superdy duper missile, or did they just tell everyone they have it?

 

[Housecarl]

Every time I read something like this about Iran, I think about that "stealth fighter" they made a couple years back, that turned out to be a plywood mockup. So do they really have this superdy duper missile, or did they just tell everyone they have it?

Well we know that they have the Shahab-3, which is a "license" copy of the North Korean Nodong, a development of the SCUD-B. That is where the CEP estimations are coming from. You change out the mechanical gyroscope guidance system that they use (which is the change to the system they're claiming to have made) to an electronic one based on electro-optical or magnetic systems and you can get that CEP down to those numbers very easily. Pair that with a satellite global positioning system receiver, even as simple as is in the average smart phone, and you can do that all the easier yet again.

Despite a bunch of the Iranian propaganda weapon "developments" like that mockup you noted, they have been able to keep their F-4 and F-14 fleets operational all this time which is really saying something.

In the end it comes down to them operationally "demonstrating" the weapon; something we hope never to see happen.

 

[Housecarl]

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/12/politics/iran-missile-test-likely-violated-u-n-resolution/

U.S.: Iran missile test 'likely' violated U.N. resolution

By Jim Sciutto, Chief National Security Correspondent
Updated 5:50 PM ET, Mon October 12, 2015


Washington (CNN)—Iran's test this weekend of a new surface-to-surface ballistic missile "likely" violated a U.N. resolution, an administration official told CNN on Monday.

Based on information the administration has so far, the test appears to be in violation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1929, which stipulates that Iran cannot engage in any activities related to ballistic missiles.

The administration official emphasized, however, that the test is not in violation of the nuclear agreement reached in July between Iran, the U.S. and five other world powers because that accord is focused on restricting Iran's path to a nuclear weapon.

A newer U.N. Security Council resolution, number 2231, implementing the deal and banning Iran from engaging in activities related to ballistic missiles designed to carry nuclear warheads is not yet in effect.

Over the weekend, state-run media reported that Iran successfully test-fired a new precision-guided, long-range missile.

The Emad (Pillar) surface-to-surface missile, designed and built by Iranian experts, is the country's first long-range missile that can be precision-guided until it reaches its target, said Brig. Gen. Hossein Dehqan, Iran's defense minister.

The Emad would be Tehran's first precision-guided missile with the range to reach its enemy, Israel.

Israel is bitterly opposed to Iran's nuclear program, and observers have speculated that it could be prepared to launch pre-emptive strikes on Iranian nuclear sites in an effort to derail their progress.

Dehqan said after the launch that the Emad would greatly increase Iran's strategic deterrence capability, state media reported.

"To follow our defense programs, we don't ask permission from anyone," he said, according to state-run news agency IRNA.

CNN's Tim Hume contributed to this report.

 

[Housecarl]

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/10/13/us-iran-missiles-usa-un-idUSKCN0S72ET20151013

Business | Tue Oct 13, 2015 6:26pm EDT
Related: World, United Nations, Aerospace & Defense

U.S. to raise Iranian missile test at U.N. Security Council

WASHINGTON

A missile test announced by Iran over the weekend was an apparent violation of a U.N. Security Council resolution and Washington will raise the incident at the United Nations, the U.S. State Department said on Tuesday.

Iran said it tested a new precision-guided ballistic missile on Sunday, signaling an apparent advance in Iranian attempts to improve the accuracy of its missile arsenal.

"We'll obviously raise this at the UNSC as we have done in previous launches," State Department spokesman Mark Toner told reporters, noting the test appeared to be a violation of U.N. Security resolution 1929.

He and White House spokesman Josh Earnest both said the issue was separate from a deal Iran struck in July with six world powers, which seeks to curb Tehran's atomic program in return for having sanctions against it eased.

Ballistic missile tests by Iran are banned under Security Council resolution 1929, which dates from 2010 and remains valid until the July 14 nuclear deal goes into effect.

Once the deal takes effect, Iran will still be "called upon" not to undertake any ballistic missiles work designed to deliver nuclear weapons for a period of up to eight years, according to a Security Council resolution adopted in July.

The resolution says that when the deal is in effect countries will be allowed to transfer missile technology and heavy weapons to Iran on a case-by-case basis with council approval.

However, at the time the resolution was drafted, a U.S. official called this provision meaningless and said the United States would veto any suggested transfer of missile technology to Iran.

Speaking on Tuesday, White House spokesman Earnest made clear countries could more to stop the flow of ballistic missile technology to Iran.

"That is work that requires international cooperation," he said, adding that Washington was ready to work with Gulf allies to counter Iran's ballistic missile program.

Iran state television showed on Sunday what it said was a successful launch of the new Iranian missile, named Emad, which appears to be Tehran's first precision-guided weapon with the range to strike its regional enemy Israel.

Britain’s U.N. Ambassador Matthew Rycroft told reporters in New York that "the existing (sanctions) architecture remains in place" for the time being, adding that the council's Iran sanctions committee should look into the incident.


(Reporting by David Alexander, Lesley Wroughton, Roberta Rampton in Washington and Louis Charbonneau in New York; Writing by Louis Charbonneau and David Alexander; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Frances Kerry)

 

[Housecarl]

Recall that during the Sarkozy administration the French were talking about conducting unilateral preemptive strikes on Iran, which considering the resources that they had available then and now would have meant using SLBMs....

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/10/15/us-iran-france-missiles-idUSKCN0S91A620151015

World | Thu Oct 15, 2015 7:42am EDT
Related: World, United Nations

France says Iran missile test 'worrying' violation of U.N. resolution

PARIS

Iran's test of a ballistic missile earlier this week was a clear violation of a U.N. Security Council resolution and sends "a worrying message", French Foreign Ministry spokesman Romain Nadal said on Thursday.

Iran tested a new precision-guided ballistic missile on Sunday in defiance of a United Nations ban, signaling an apparent advance in Iranian attempts to improve the accuracy of its missile arsenal.

"The Oct. 11 launch constitutes a clear violation of this resolution (1929). It is a worrying message from Iran to the international community," Nadal told reporters in a daily briefing.

Ballistic missile tests by Iran are banned under Security Council resolution 1929, which dates from 2010 and remains valid until a nuclear deal dating from July 14 this year goes into effect.

Once the deal takes effect, Iran will still be "called upon" not to undertake any work on ballistic missiles designed to deliver nuclear weapons for a period of up to eight years, according to a Security Council resolution adopted in July.

That resolution also says that once the deal is in effect countries will be allowed to transfer missile technology and heavy weapons to Iran on a case-by-case basis with council approval.

However, at the time the resolution was drafted, a U.S. official called this provision meaningless and said the United States would veto any suggested transfer of ballistic missile technology to Iran.

"Resolution 1929 will stay in place until confirmation by the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency), which should give its opinion at the start of 2016, on the implementation of Iran's nuclear commitments," Nadal said.

France took one of the hardest lines of the six powers negotiating the nuclear agreement with Iran.


(Reporting by John Irish; Editing by Leigh Thomas and James Regan)