Putin lifts ban on delivery of S-300 missile systems to Iran

The Russian president has repealed the ban prohibiting the delivery of S-300 missile air defense systems to Iran, according to the Kremlin’s press service. The ban was introduced by former President Dmitry Medvedev in 2010.

“[The presidential] decree lifts the ban on transit through Russian territory, including airlift, and the export from the Russian Federation to the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also the transfer to the Islamic Republic of Iran outside the territory of the Russian Federation, both by sea and by air, of air defense missile systems S-300,” says the information note accompanying the document, RIA Novosti reported.

The decree enters into force upon the president’s signature.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov commented on the decision, saying that Moscow’s voluntary embargo on S-300 deliveries was no longer necessary, due to the progress in Iran’s nuclear talks made in Lausanne on April 2.

During the talks in Switzerland, the P5+1 group have made “substantial progress in resolving the Iranian nuclear program,” Lavrov said. “The political framework of the final deal agreed upon was highly praised by the international community.”

He added: “We believe that at this stage there is no longer need for this kind of embargo – from the Russian side it was unilateral and voluntary.”

The foreign minister also said: “Meanwhile, a modern air defense system is now very relevant to Iran, especially taking into account the severe escalation of tensions in neighboring areas and especially the rapid development of military activity in Yemen in recent weeks.”

Lavrov added that the S-300 is an air defense missile system, which is of a purely defensive nature. It is not designed for attacks and “will not put at risk the security of any state in the region, including Israel,”he said.

Iran’s defense minister said on Monday that Russia’s decision will boost cooperation with Moscow and could help regional stability.

US Secretary of State John Kerry raised concerns with Lavrov over Russia’s decision, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said on Monday. He added that Russia’s decision to start an oil-for-goods swap could also raise sanctions concerns.

Commenting on Russia’s move, US State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said on Monday that US officials do not think this would affect the major powers’ unity in ongoing nuclear talks. She added that Russian deliveries of the S-300 would not violate Iranian sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council.

Israel has denounced Russia’s decision to lift the ban on providing S-300 missiles to Iran.

“This is a direct result of the legitimacy that Iran is receiving from the nuclear deal that is being prepared, and proof that the Iranian economic growth which follows the lifting of sanctions will be exploited for arming itself and not for the welfare of the Iranian people,” Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz said in a statement on Monday.

The contract for supplying S-300 missile systems to Iran was signed in 2007 and implied the delivery of five S-300 squadrons worth $800 million. But in 2010 the contract was put on hold due to the UN imposing sanctions on Iran.

Tehran answered with filing a nearly $4 billion lawsuit against Russia’s Rosoboron export arms dealer company to a Geneva arbitration tribunal.

The question of S-300 supply to Tehran remained unsettled for years.

After years of negotiation, in February 2015, Moscow offered Tehran the chance to buy its latest Antey-2500 anti-aircraft and ballistic missile system, instead of the older S-300 system. Iran replied that it would consider the offer.

The last time Russia supplied S-300 systems abroad was in 2010, when 15 squadrons were delivered to China.

Since then production of S-300 systems has been suspended as the main producer of the Russian air defenses, concern Almaz-Antey, has launched production of the next generation systems, S-400. China has become the first country allowed to buy S-400 systems, Rosoboronexport chief Anatoly Isaykin told the Russian media.

As of today, S-300 systems have been operable in a number of countries, including Algeria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Cyprus, Kazakhstan and Vietnam. There is a valid contract to deliver S-300 systems to Syria, but it was put on hold after the beginning of the civil war in the country.

Source: www.electronicresistance.net

Naval Weapons - Anti-Ship Missiles - The Kowsar, Noor and Raad

Anti-Ship Missiles

Kowsar ASM

The Kowsar is the lightest of the 3 main ASM’s in the Iranian arsenal, being able to be launched from either land on mobile platforms, or from sea from the missile version of the IPS-16 fast attack craft (FAC). It comes in two main variants with a third in development. 

Kowsar ASM

The first model is the Kowsar-1 and is identical to the Chinese C-701. Being the lightest of the missiles, it is not intended to engage targets with displacements greater then 180 tons of displacement meaning that the targets in theory would be limited to amphibious landing craft and auxiliary support craft.(1) However, in 2006, Hezbollah was able to deploy a C-701 successfully against the INS Hanit, a corvette with roughly 10000 tons of displacement, in other words, a craft 5 times as large as the acceptable target. The warhead is fairly conventional, with 29 kg of armor piercing high explosive. Guidance during the boost stage consists of inertial navigation which consists of calculating the approximate position of the target. Unlike other ASM’s, the Kowsar-1 does not climb to enter a cruise phase after launch, but rather remains at a fairly constant height of about 15 meters. Once it enters the immediate vicinity of the target, it switches over to TV guidance which would then have to be manually guided onto the correct target. The TV guidance can be replaced with an infrared seeker.
 

Kowsar 1

• Range: 25 km
• Length: 2.5 m
• Missile Weight: 100 kg
• Warhead: 29 kg
• Speed: Mach .8
• Guidance:
o Cruise Phase: INS
o Terminal Guidance: TV Imaging, IR

The second model, the Kowsar-2 is physically identical to the Kowsar-1, however the difference comes in the terminal guidance. The limiting factor of the Kowsar-1 was the TV or IR seeker which meant that the operator would have to stay with the missile the whole way until the target, which in turn meant that its usability on anything else besides a stationary launcher would be unfeasible. This meant that the operators were increasingly vulnerable to counterattacks from all angles. The solution to that was to replace the TV/IR seeker with a ‘millimetre-wave radar’ which is a type of active homing radar that is activated in the terminal phase and automatically scans for the target, allowing the operator to leave the area once the missile is fired, this then allows the missile to be fired from platforms like the upgraded IPS-16.

Kowsar 2

• Range: 25 km
• Length: 2.5 m
• Missile Weigh: 100 kg
• Warhead: 29 kg
• Speed: Mach .8
• Guidance:
o Cruise Phase: INS
o Terminal Guidance: Millimetre-wave radar
• Alterations
o Replacement of terminal guidance with active radar

Noor ASM

The Noor is the bigger brother to the Kowsar. It is the most common missile in the IRGCN’s arsenal and is found on land based launchers, the Thondar and Kaman class missile boats as well as most larger IRIN vessels such as the Alvand and Mowj. 

Noor missile in Holly Defence Exhibition

 It comes in sets of 4 on each of the respective ships, while two can be fired from the Mi-17 and the F-4, while 4 can be allegedly carried on the Su-24, although no pictures of the latter have been unearthed. Like, the Kowsar, it also comes in two main variants, with a third in development. It is in the same class as the more famous Excocet missile.

The Noor-1, is copy of the C-801, the precursor to the C-802. The larger 165 kg warhead as compared to the Kowsar, means that it is most useful against frigates, cruisers and destroyers such as the ‘Oliver Hazard Perry’ and ‘Ticonderoga’ class of ships found in the USN 5th fleet that patrols the Persian Gulf. The largest ship sunk ever successfully sunk, albeit a test, has 10,000 tons of displacement, which is 2000 pounds greater then the Ticonderoga cruiser, the most formidable of the US destroyers. In the early ‘90’s, Iran received 200 C-801’s along with 8 launchers, at that point Iran began to reverse engineer them under the name “Tondar”, eventually it morphed into the Noor-1 project. In the late ‘90’s, Iran adapted them to fire from an F-4. The guidance and flight profile is presumably the same as the C-802. After cruising speed of mach .9 is achieved through a boost motor, it flies at 20-30 meters cruising altitude. Inertial guidance, as with the Kowsar, guides the missile to the target. When entering terminal phase, the two seeker systems activate, the first is the monopulse active radar much like the radar in the Kowsar, the second is an IR seeker that was originally squeezed into the large housing of the original missile as an after market addition, however its usefulness soon led it to become standard equipment. A sharp drop then happens, from 20-30 metres to 5-7 meters above the sea level, maintained by the radio or laser altimeter. This has the advantage of making it near invisible to the target ship because it is below the detection range, especially combined with the integrated jamming capabilities and low radar signature. The missile is driven with kinetic energy through the hull where a delayed fuze allowing the missile to explode within the target vessel.

Noor 1

• Range: 40 km
• Length: 6.5 m
• Missile Weight: 715+ kg
• Warhead: 165 kg
• Speed: .9 mach
• Guidance: Inertial in cruise with monopulse active radar and IR Seeker in terminal

The Noor-2 replaced the original solid fuel rocket of the Noor-1 with a much more powerful turbojet. However the actual range gained is somewhat contentious, some use set figure of 120 km found on the C-802(on which the Noor-2 is a loose copy of). However some cite the domestic modifications to the Microturbo TRI 60-2 powerplant as evidence that the range was extended, and in 2006, during the ‘Blow of Zolfaqar’ wargames, commanders were quoted as saying it was 200 km. However the latter number is cast into doubt when the rest of the article mentions that the missile was only ever fired from warships, whereas in 1997, the Noor-1 was tested from an F-4.  The most likely range is somewhere around 170 km as it fits in line with the upgrades and domestic production of the turbojet, under the name of Tolloue 4 and 5.(8) Although the missile is overall lighter then the Noor-1 due to reduction in the solid fuel, the warhead remains the same packing the same punch, as do the targeting mechanisms remain unchanged. There are several key changes however. First, in the terminal phase, an upgraded altimeter allows the missile to hug the water closer, staying 3-5 meters above the surface. Second, the option of having a ‘pop-up’ attack pattern was also introduced by Chinese partners in 2006. A ‘pop-up’ pattern involves an immediate jump by the missile in the last few seconds allowing the missile to dive deep into the deck of the target. Third is the introduction of manoeuvring algorithms to make it harder for active ship defences to stop the missile. 

Noor 2

• Range: 170 km (140-200 km possible)
• Length: 6.5 m
• Missile Weight: 715+ kg
• Warhead: 165 kg
• Speed: .9 mach
• Guidance
o Cruise: Inertial
o Terminal: DM-3BMonopulse active radar and IR Seeker
• Alterations
o Turbojet engine
o Lower altitude in terminal phase
o Introduction of manoeuvring and ‘pop-up’ attack options

Raad ASM

The largest of Iran’s anti ship missiles, the Raad also has the longest range. It can be fired from a multitude of platforms including static defences, self-propelled tracked vehicles, presumably delivered from North Korea, or from a truck, much like the ones seen launching Kowsars. Developed from the body of the Chinese HY-2 Silkworm, the Raad, however, has seen many improvements most prominently in the seeker and propulsion. The first of the changes include replacing the conical scanning radar and IR imaging with the "brains” of the Noor missile (DM-3B radar) with the end result that the missile becomes of skimming the sea at about 3-5 meters, compared to 8 of the HY-2, a substantial amount when considering a targets countermeasures. It also means that it will be capable of last minute evasive maneuvers and execute a ‘pop-up’ attack on the deck of the target. 

Raad ASM

 Although, they will be notably harder with a missile with the aerodynamics of the 3,000 kg missile compared to the 715 kg Noor. It undoubtedly presents other difficulties of meshing the two systems, but they have presumably been fixed due to successful tests. The second main alteration is engine. Public perception is that the Raad is powered by the Tolou-4, the same powerplant as in the Noor. However this is intuitively unlikely given that the Tolou-4 was designed to propel a much smaller (715 kg) missile. Another indicator is looking at the extremely prominent ducts on the Raad compared to the extremely recessed ducts on the Noor. Rather, the more likely candidate is the Tolou-5 upgrade which is described as being much more powerful then its predecessor, although it was only in the prototype stage in 2005, meaning it would have had to of progressed extremely fast for them to appear in the 2007 wargames.

Other then the above modifications, the Raad acts very much like the HY-2 from which it was derived, it is fired with the help of a solid rocket booster, quickly climbing to 1,000 meters, then descending to slightly less then 20 meters for cruising under inertial guidance. When, in terminal phase the active radar is switched on, and the missile descends to about 4 meters to skim the surface of the water and eventually strike the target. Packed with over 300 kg of high explosive in a shaped charge, it is designed for use against the massive destroyers of western fleets. (13) Meanwhile, the 360 km range would literally leaving no part of the gulf untouched.

• Range: 360 km
• Length: 7.48 m
• Missile Weight: 2,998 kg
• Warhead: 315 kg
• Speed: .8 mach
o Guidance: Inertial in cruise, DM-3BMonopulse active radar and possibly IR seeker in terminal.

Other missiles

Navigating Irans inventory of equipment is metaphorical minefield of what exists and what only exists as prototypes, and what is rhetoric. Consequently there are a few missiles which may or may not exist depending on whom you talk to. The biggest example of this is the anti-ship missile which was recently announced this month. It was announced by “experts from the Iranian Armed Forces in charge of the project” as an air-to-ship missile weighing 500 kg (presumably the whole missile, not just the warhead) and having a range of 110 km, and being radar guided. Whatever this missile is, its roughly in the same class as the Noor, although having shorter range. Some think it is just another test or variation of the Noor missile, but if this were true it would have to definitely another version due to the dramatic reduction in weight (change of 200 kg) with a similar reduction in range(change of 60 km). Logically it could just be the Noor with a smaller fuel load, leading to both a reduction in weight and range. The only purpose though would be more efficient transportation by the weapons carrying platform, most likely and F-4 or Su-24, although it could have been specifically designed for an F-5 as a normal Noor may have been thought to be too large.

Iran Begins 'Massive' Deployment of Long-Range Missile Launchers

Iran: A Hawk surface-to-air missile (AFP Photo / Amin Khoroshahi)

As the Islamic Republic of Iran prepares for presidential elections next month it is fielding a "massive" number of new long-range missile launchers, Iranian media reported on Sunday.

Defense Minister Gen. Ahmad Vahidi was quoted as saying the new weapon systems give Iranian forces the ability to "crush the enemy" with the simultaneous launching of long-range surface-to-surface missiles, according to Fars, the semi-official Iranian news agency.

The report did not specify the type of missile that would be fired, or provide details on the number of launchers allegedly deployed. Iran’s military does possess surface-to-surface missiles that are capable of traveling over 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles), able to reach of targets inside Israel and US bases in the region.

Vahidi did not specify who was the "enemy," and emphasized that Iran would never start a war.

Although Tehran occasionally announces military achievements that cannot be independently verified – like the claim it developed a state-of-the-art stealth drone capable of evading enemy radar – they come in the face of relentless external pressure.

Only last year, as the United Nations slapped Tehran with another round of harsh sanctions, Iran threatened to shut down the Strait of Hormuz, through which 18 million barrels of oil flows every day – roughly 35 percent of the world’s total. Any disruption of this supply route would have a huge impact on oil prices, and by extension the global economy.

The stand-off resulted in a tense military parade as the US sent three full US carrier groups, each accompanied by dozens of support vessels and carrying more aircraft than the entire Iranian air force, to participate in the Hormuz exercises. Tehran watched with apprehension as the fleet came and went.

Iranian soldiers prepare to launch a Hawk surface-to-air missile during military maneuvers at an undisclosed location in Iran.(AFP Photo / Amin Khoroshahi)

Earlier this month, another US-led naval drill began in the Persian Gulf in a second such display of maritime strength in less than a year. The exercises involved 35 ships, 18 unmanned submarines and unmanned aircraft.

At the same time, Washington has been engaged in constructing a European missile defense system that it says will protect Europe from a “rogue state” missile attack.

In September, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu exhorted the UN General Assembly to draw "a clear red line" to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

The hawkish government of Likud leader Netanyahu has said in the past that “all of the options are on the table” – a thinly disguised remark suggesting military action – in order to halt Iran’s nuclear research.

These fears are shared by the US and EU who have imposed severe sanctions targeting Iran’s oil sectors against the Persian country, and by many other nations across the globe.
Tehran has rejected the allegations, arguing that it is developing its nuclear capabilities for purely civilian purposes, and demanding that the world acknowledge its right to peaceful nuclear research.

Qiam-1 new Ballistic Missile of Iran, Has it been equipped with maneuverable warhead?

Introduction  of Qiam-1 and its Features

Some days ago (2011-05-22), Ahmad Vahidi, Iran’s defence ministry started  delivery of Qiam-1 missiles to IRGC, in published images of delivery ceremony at least ten missiles are seen. But warheads haven’t been shown.

Last year in middle of the summer (2010-08-20) Iran test fired this new finless ballistic missile. Ahmad Vahidi Defence Minister of Iran introduced Qiam-1 missile for the first time in a congregation of people on Tehran University campus on Friday  :

“Being a new class of Iranian missiles, Qiam 1 has been equipped with new technical specifications and exceptional tactical powers,” Vahidi noted. “Qiam 1 is part of the new generation of the Islamic Republic’s surface to surface missiles with liquid fuel and completely designed and built domestically,” the Iranian minister stated. He explained that the missile is equipped with a smart navigation system, which decreases the possibility of it being targeted by other projectiles. Vahidi added that the liquid-fuel missile’s launch time is low due to its smart targeting system.”It enjoys enhanced agility due to the scrapping of its fins,”

Vahidi stressed, adding that the missile can hit targets with high precision. 

In a Persian language edition report of Vahidi remarks by IRIBnews.ir, it has been mentioned that increased thrust of engine is another feature of Qiam-1 missile. He stated Guidance, control and navigation systems of Qiam-1 create a capability of being Smart during flight path of Qiam-1, this capability causes significantly increase in accuracy of missile. he also mentioned  maneuverability is another feature of Qiam-1.

A day after test firing of missile (2010-08-21), Head of the Defence Ministry’s Aerospace Industries Organization General Seyed Mehdi Farahi told Fars News Agency that high velocity, radar-evading and launching from different launchers are some of features of this missile. He mentioned different stealth features like material used in this missile has been considered in this missile .

At first glance having no fins and a triconic warhead like warheads of Ghadr-1/Sejil are most noticeable features of it.

First (?) generation (or prototype) of triconic warhead of Shahab-3:

Ghadr-1 warhead:

After several years of observing such triconic warheads on Iranian missiles, Last year, such warhead was seen on a new North Korean missile, for the first time :

Having no fins on this missile means less drag (more speed and more range), less RCS (more difficult to detect and track and target it by anti ballistic missile systems during boost stage of flight of missile) and new triconic separable warhead increases accuracy and difficulty of targeting warhead in terminal phase of flight of missile.

Fins in Ballistic missiles are used to stabilize missile during boost stage (and re-entering to atmosphere in the case of non separable warhead), so many people believes Qiam-1 uses advanced guidance systems that retains stability of missile during boost stage even without fins. They also believe this new guidance system increases accuracy of missile.

Another different feature of Qiam-1 in comparison to Scud and Shahab1&2 missiles is its launcher, Unlike Scud, Qiam-1 doesn’t use a MAZ-543 TEL and uses new semi-trailer TEL like TEL’s of Shahab-3, Sejil and Ghadr-1 missiles.

Estimations of dimensions of Qiam-1: Does it use Scud engine ?

One of the most noteworthy debates about Qiam-1 since the first hours after unveiling it, was estimation of its dimensions. Notice to above image, If you calculate length of the man with white hat and length of missile in Photoshop by pixels and then using the actual height of man as a scale, you can estimate real dimensions of missile. I assumed length of man equals to 1.8 m ( most people in Iran are shorter and are between 1.7 to 1.75m). so maximum length of missile will be around 9 meters and diameter of it will be around 70 cm.

But many people believe this method isn’t a proper method for estimation of dimensions of missile, because the white hat man is closer to camera rather than TEL, but some other peoples such as me don’t agree with them because distance of camera to man and TEL is much more than distance between the man and TEL, so distance between the man and TEL can not affect much on estimation. Another error in this method is caused by different angle and distance from camera to bottom and top of the missile.

I tried to check accuracy of this method by estimation of dimensions of SCUD-B by this method. I found two similar images of SCUD-B and an image of Shahab-2.

I estimated dimensions of Scud-B in first and second picture respectively :10.9 m (around 1% error) and around 10.m (less than 10% error) for length and 85cm and 80 cm for diameter (actual dimensions of Scud-B equals 10.944m for length and 88 cm for diameter).

I estimated dimensions of Shahab-2 too, surprisingly length  was almost close to length of Qiam-1, around 9.2-9.3 m but estimated diameter was around 80 cm . I think estimation of dimensions of Shahab-2 based on this image of causes more error than above images of scud’s and qiam-1, because distance of camera to subject is shorter and distortions are more.

So I couldn’t reach to a certain conclusion that does Qiam-1′s engine actually based on Scud’s engine or not. But almost all people agree that length of Qiam-1 is shorter than Scud-B, most of them believe it has the same diameter of Scud and uses the same engine of it (it seems logical, why should they design a new and smaller engine whereas they have scud engine?) and just a little shorter (around 10.4), others believe it is a new completely smaller missile with less diameter.

Does Qiam-1 use vernier thrusters for terminal guidance?

Another debate about Qiam-1 missile is four mysterious things which are seen on the warhead of missile. In fact this is the difference of warhead of Qiam-1 with Ghadr-1 and Sejil. last year a mock-up of Qiam-1 missile was showed in an exhibition during “Holy Defence Week” (in September 2010) in Tehran. But there weren’t these things on warhead of that mock-up.

Almost all people agree that Qiam-1 uses a separable warhead, but many people believe its warhead  isnt a  maneuverable re-entry vehicle. unlike them, I think there are reasons that indicate those things can be vernier thrusters.

If you notice to those things on the warhead, you can distinct three identical things with 120 degree angle with each other and one another thing different than these three things there.

Some people say those things are antenna, but I want to ask them what type antennas? What is task of them? I haven’t seen such antenna on other Iranian missiles and even on other ballistic missiles, (if you have seen, I will be glad if you tell me). Notice to the shape and 120 degree configuration of them, are they similar to antenna?  I think no.

That special shape and 120 degree configuration of them is proper for thrusters. Some people say they aren’t thrusters because orientation and position of them isn’t proper to guide warhead, but I don’t think so.

Notice to shape of warhead, it is horizontally symmetrical, so center of mass of warhead has been located on the vertical axis of warhead. But as you see bottom part of warhead is bigger than upper part of it, so center of mass of warhead has been located on the vertical axis of warhead and closer to the bottom of warhead.

Now if you notice to the position of those three identical things, you find them closer to bottom of warhead. It is possible to conclude those three things and center of mass of warhead, almost have the same distance from bottom of warhead (or at least they have very close distances from bottom of warhead) On this positions, created force of thruster with parallel direction to the vertical axis of warhead create most possible torque for rotating warhead, because force of thruster enters to a line that pass from center of mass and direction of force is  perpendicular to that line. If the force orientation has any other angle with that line, we should break force (f_tot) vector to two other force vectors, one (fx) on the line between thruster and mass center of warhead, another (f_y) on an axis perpendicular to this line, so in this case the force that can create torque is f_y that is smaller than f_tot and so created torque is smaller.

I searched some missile to find such things on them, I find some missile like 8k69 missile that uses four such similar shape vernier thruster on the second stage of it: 

In addition to above observation, consider Vahidi remarks about maneuverability of missile and also smart guidance, control and navigation of Qiam-1 during terjectory of missile which decreases the possibility of it being targeted by other projectiles. (if we assume his remarks isnt just for propaganda)

Current ABM systems like PAC-3 or even longer range SM-3 and THAAD intercept BM’s in post-boost stage not boost stage. so above remarks of Vahidi  isnt about boost stage of trajectory, and for a smart guidance, control and navigation of warhead in post-boost stages, when  warhead is separated from booster of missile, steering system like vernier thrusters is needed on warhead.

Another question about Vahidi remarks is “Maneuverability”. Does he mean maneuverability during boost stage? Has term of “maneuverability” any usage in boost phase? Or maneuverability can be used just in post-boost phase (midcourse and terminal) of trajectory of missile because missile doesn’t need to maneuver during boost phase. If he means maneuverability in boost stage, so it doesn’t need to mention it as a feature because all missiles have this ability. And if he means post-boost stages, so warhead needs independent steering system capable to produce thrust.
Two days ago Iran launched second satellite into orbit. Iran released an animation about launching Rasad satellite. I saw two small thrusters (brake engines) on top end of first stage of Safir SLV which pushes back first stage after separation from second stage, I obtained a low quality of that clip and captured some pictures of sepration from that clip to show those thrusters :

I can’t say, surely those things are certainly vernier thrusters, but I believe the possibility of them being vernier thrusters, is more than other possibilities .

Source: http://aboutiran.blog.com/