New ballistic missile types delivered to IRGC

Six Iranian Khorramshahr ballistic missiles are seen flanked by Haj Qasem ballistic missiles during the handover ceremony. (president.ir)

Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) officially received what appeared to be its first Khorramshahr and Haj Qasem ballistic missiles in a ceremony attended by President Ebrahim Raisi to mark the Defence Industry Day on 22 August.

Six liquid-fuel Khorramshahrs were shown with three solid-propellant Haj Qasems on either side during the ceremony, all of them on transporter erector launchers (TELs).

The Khorramshahr was unveiled in September 2017 and two other versions have since been displayed, most recently the Khorramshahr-4 in May, but this was the first handover ceremony for the missile series that has been publicised.

The missiles all had the same large re-entry vehicle (RV) seen on the original version rather than smaller one seen on the Khorramshahr-2 or the powered one on the Khorramshahr-4. IRGC Aerospace Force Commander Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh has claimed the original Khorramshahr has a range of 2,000 km with an 1,800 km warhead, although European experts have said its warhead weighs 1,500 kg, which still makes it Iran's most powerful ballistic missile.

The details the IRGC provided about the Khorramshahr-4 effectively confirmed it uses the same hypergolic engine as the Soviet R-27 Zyb submarine-launched ballistic missile.

Named after Major General Qasem Soleimani, the late commander of the IRGC's external operations arm, the Haj Qasem was unveiled in August 2020 along with the Abu Mahdi long-range anti-ship missile. At that time, it was reported to have a range of 1,400 km with a 500 kg warhead in a separating RV.