Foreign Correspondence

[Amaunet]

I think the Iranian missile is the Topol-M from Russia.

And there is no defense against it. Russia may have given them the basic technology. Not sure if Russia has given the Topol-M to China as it could have come to Iran through that avenue.

Iranian Missile
"Today, a remarkable goal of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s defence forces was realised with the successful test-firing of a new missile with greater technical and tactical capabilities than those previously produced," Gen. Hossein Salami said on state-run television.

"This missile can simultaneously hit several targets, has near stealth capabilities with a high manoeuverability, pin-point accuracy and radar avoidance features."

Russian Missile

Topol-Ms have been deployed in silos since 1998. The missiles have a range of about 6,000 miles and reportedly can maneuver in ways that are difficult to detect.

Both Russia and then Iran stress manoeuverability.

See also:
#msg-5110897

Iran & Syria Armed With Russian S-300 Missiles
#msg-6926581

-Am




Excerpts on the Topol-M

Gennadiy Yasinskiy, captioned as first deputy constructor at the Moscow institute of thermal technology] This missile is coming to the end of its service life. I don’t think the Americans will come up with anything special with their air defense [missile defense] system over these three years, whereas our modernized Topol-M missile [the SS-27] has all the elements required to overcome the US system being developed today.

[Correspondent] It was precisely in an attempt to catch up with the Topol that the Americans built the terribly expensive B-2 stealth bomber, each costing two billion dollars. But the outlay turned out to be justified: once in the air, this missile—the foundation of our nuclear shield—is completely unassailable for any air defense [missile defense] system. http://64.233.179.104/search?q=cache:zrDUuVBRjsAJ:www.missilethreat.com/news/200511.html+Arrow+2+ant....

Russia appears confident that it will remain able to overwhelm or evade any NMD system the US deploys, and the latest generation of Russian ICBMs, the Topol-M, bears this out (see sidebar).
http://64.233.179.104/search?q=cache:V5_IYNI24OcJ:www.edefenseonline.com/default.asp%3Ffunc%3Darticl....

Speaking at a meeting of the Armed Forces' leadership, Putin reportedly said that Russia is researching and successfully testing new nuclear missile systems.
``I am sure that ... they will be put in service within the next few years and, what is more, they will be developments of the kind that other nuclear powers do not and will not have,' Putin was quoted as saying by the ITAR-Tass news agency.
Putin reportedly said: ``International terrorism is one of the major threats for Russia. We understand as soon as we ignore such components of our defense as a nuclear and missile shield, other threats may occur.'
No details were immediately available, but Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said earlier this month that Russia expected to test-fire a mobile version of its Topol-M ballistic missile this year and that production of the new weapon could be commissioned in 2005.
News reports have also said Russia is believed to be developing a next-generation heavy nuclear missile that could carry up to 10 nuclear warheads weighing a total of 4.4 tons, compared with the Topol-M's 1.32-ton combat payload.
Topol-Ms have been deployed in silos since 1998. The missiles have a range of about 6,000 miles and reportedly can maneuver in ways that are difficult to detect.
Anybody wanna bet how long it'll take for the White House or the Pentagon to say this proves the need for its missile defense array -- even though the system is so lame, it can't be tested?
THERE'S MORE: "This is not something that we look at as new," White House press secretary Scott McCllelan now says. "We are very well aware of their long-standing modernization efforts for their military. ... We are allies now in the global war on terrorism."
AND MORE: The Russian military has been working for a number of years, now, on missiles that can juke American interceptors, Jeffrey Lewis notes. In December 2003, "a source on the Russian General Staff told Interfax that every Topol-M [missile] will be outfitted with... the capability of launching decoys."
Last February, the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists observes, the Russians successfully tested "a new hypersonic 'Crazy Ivan' warhead that follows a nonclassical scenario, changing flight altitude and course repeatedly, making it nearly impossible to track and target. Putin declared Russia able to penetrate any missile defense system with ease."
http://www.defensetech.org/archives/001223.html

A SS-27 Topol-M mobile ballistic missile based in Russia can be a better defense for Venezuela against Washington's irrascible intervention than one parked on the paradise island of Margarita.
OPEC can better protect the value of Russian gas and petrol from Washington’s slobbering greed than a SS-27 Topol-M mobile ballistic missile based in Tehran.
http://www.vheadline.com/readnews.asp?id=47698
http://64.233.179.104/search?q=cache:mlz22Gyg6pQJ:schema-root.org/military/weapons/missiles/ballisti....

Indeed, the opposite is true: Iran can count on some powerful allies, above all Mr Putin, whose impact in the Middle East is baleful. Consider the following: on Christmas Eve, Russia’s military commanders were engaged on a mission almost entirely ignored by the Western media – the deployment of the newest version of a deadly nuclear missile, the Topol M. It is fired almost into space, then descends on its target like a bullet. It is designed to penetrate America’s missile shield, paraded by the US navy two months ago when it destroyed a test missile some 100 miles above the Pacific Ocean. The arms race did not die with the end of the Cold War; now it is back on with a vengeance. In 2004 Russia conducted 15 ballistic missile test launches, more than any year since the Soviet era. Last year 28 tests were carried out. The Christmas Eve deployment of the Topol M along the Volga River shows Mr Putin is serious.

The significance of this for Iran? Simple: this renewed (albeit barely reported) renaissance in US-Russian rivalry threatens to spill over in the Middle East, thanks to Iran. Russia has confirmed a deal to sell TOR-M1 surface-to-air missiles to Iran.
http://64.233.179.104/search?q=cache:FOJkMPqZAx0J:www.melaniephillips.com/diary/archives/001550.html....

Iran test-fires new missile

Friday, March 31, 2006

Times Online:
Iran today test-fired a new missile with the ability to avoid radar and hit several targets simultaneously, the air force chief of the Revolutionary Guards has confirmed.

Iranian television described the new weapon as a "ballistic" missile, suggesting it was of comparable range to Iran’s existing ballistic rocket, the Shahab-3, which can travel 2,000 km (1,250 miles) and reach Israel and US bases in the Middle East. The Shahab-3 is also capable of carrying a nuclear warhead.

"Today, a remarkable goal of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s defence forces was realised with the successful test-firing of a new missile with greater technical and tactical capabilities than those previously produced," Gen. Hossein Salami said on state-run television.

"This missile can simultaneously hit several targets, has near stealth capabilities with a high manoeuverability, pin-point accuracy and radar avoidance features." READ MORE

Salami said the Iranian-made missile was test-fired as large military manoeuvres began in the Persian Gulf and the Arabian sea. The deployment is scheduled to last a week and will involve 17,000 members of the Revolutionary Guards as well as boats, fighter jets and helicopter gunships.

As Iran is a major oil producer, the war games have contributed to the anxiety on world oil markets over the confrontation between the UN Security Council and Iran over its nuclear programme.

Crude oil futures in London remained above US$66 a barrel on Friday as speculators expressed concern about Iran’s refusal to accept the Security Council’s call for it to cease uranium enrichment. "We’ve seen the market pause a little, but these war games in the Persian Gulf will be watched very closely for any escalation in tension," an oil broker told Dow Jones Newswires.

In Israel, a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry expressed his nation’s alarm at news of the latest Iranian missile. "This news causes much concern," said the spokesman, Mark Regev, "and that concern is shared by many countries in the international community, about Iran’s aggressive nuclear weapons programme and her parallel efforts to develop delivery systems, both in the field of ballistic missiles and cruise missiles.

"The combination of extremist jihadist ideology, together with nuclear weapons and delivery systems, is a combination that no-one in the international community can be complacent about."

Iran launched an arms development programme during its 1980-88 war with Iraq to compensate for a US weapons embargo. Since 1992, Iran has produced its own tanks, armoured personnel carriers, missiles and a fighter plane.

Meanwhile, former President Hashemi Rafsanjani said that Iran is willing to sell the weapons it produces at competitive prices. Addressing tens of thousands of worshippers at Friday prayers in Tehran University, Rafsanjani said that the country’s 1980-88 war with Iraq had made it self-reliant in armaments.

"Today, our military requirements - from jet fighters to bullets - can be produced inside the country," he said. "We can provide low-priced weapons to many countries."

http://regimechangeiran.blogspot.com/2006/03/iran-test-fires-new-missile.html