File image.
On February 9, the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) unveiled a new strategic long-range missile with pinpoint accuracy dubbed “Kheibar-Shekan”.
The new missile was showcased for the first time during a ceremony attended by Chief of Staff of Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Bagheri, Commander of the IRGC’s Aerospace Division Brigadier General Amir-Ali Hajizadeh and a number of other high-ranking military officials and commanders.
The ceremony, which coincided with celebrations in Iran commemorating the 1979 Islamic Revolution, was held at an unidentified IRGC underground missile base.
Khaybar Shekan has a range of 1,450 kilometers and is reportedly among third-generation long-range missiles locally developed and manufactured by military experts at the IRGC’s Aerospace Division.
The advanced design of the new missile, which uses solid fuel, reduced its weight by one-third compared to similar types, and its preparation and firing time by one-sixth. Furthermore, the missile enjoys considerable agility and high velocity when impacting its targets.
Khaybar Shekan represents a middle point between Iran’s solid-fueled surface-to-surface missiles, like the Fateh-110, and its liquid-fueled short-range ballistic missiles, like the Qiam 1.
Iran has been working nonstop to develop its missile capabilities in order to cope with threats from the US and its allies in the Middle East, first and foremost Israel. Tehran’s large missile program saw a number of breakthroughs in the last few years.
