A few days ago, another exercise of the Iranian naval forces took place in the Strait of Hormuz. As after all previous similar events, the command of the Iranian naval forces responded well to the results of the exercises. Naval sailors have shown what they are capable of and how they can defend their country from outside attacks. Among other things, the official Iranian statements on regular exercises include words about testing more and more missile systems of various classes. At present, it is precisely such weapons that are considered by Western countries to be one of the most dangerous, even in the short term.
One of the latest concerns has been Iran's recently developed Quader anti-ship missile. The guided cruise missile is capable of hitting targets at ranges of up to 200 kilometers and at the same time, it is argued, its control system provides significantly greater accuracy in comparison with previous Iranian-made anti-ship missiles. Also, the Iranian military is talking about the possibility of installing a Kadir missile launch complex on almost any warship of the Iranian Navy. If the declared characteristics of the Quader anti-ship missile system are true, then a new trump card has appeared in the hands of Iran, capable to a certain extent of protecting the country from attack and preventing a possible war.
The Kadir anti-ship missile is one of the consequences of the increased attention paid by the Iranian leadership to the creation of new missile systems. According to Iranian military leaders, in fact, missiles are the only class of weapons that can either prevent the start of a new war, or help the Iranian army a little easier to fend off an attack. Iranian engineers have already made some progress in the missile direction and, according to some Western intelligence services, by 2015 they may begin testing their first intercontinental missile. Thus, the two highest priority areas of the Iranian defense industry - missile and nuclear - together will be able to ensure the country's security.
It is worth noting that the Iranian designers have so far managed to establish the production of only medium-range missiles. The newest ballistic missiles of this class of the Sajil family have a range of up to 2,500 kilometers. Thus, to achieve the coveted mark of 5500 kilometers, Iranian rocket designers will have to make a lot of efforts. In the meantime, Iranian missiles pose no danger to Europe or both American continents.
The development and construction of intercontinental missiles requires a lot of special technologies, as well as a number of studies. Thus, all additional expenditures on preliminary research, etc., should be added to the expenses for the actual design of the rocket. Iran, it seems, is not yet able to carry out the entire range of measures related to the creation of intercontinental missiles. There is information about the work at the end of the nineties and the beginning of the two thousandths, during which it was planned to make a missile of the Shehab family with a range of about 3500-4000 kilometers. Judging by the lack of such missiles in the Iranian military at the present time, that project has never borne fruit. Perhaps some work is still going on, but they have no visible result.
A number of sources mention a slowdown in the development and construction of other missiles. In addition, it is worth noting the limited capabilities of Iran in the field of scientific and design personnel. Tehran is unable to invite foreign experts from leading countries or exchange knowledge with them. In fact, the only partner of Iran in the missile field is North Korea, which regularly cooperates with Iranian missile designers. Well, taking into account the missile progress in the DPRK, certain conclusions can be drawn about the fruits of cooperation with Iran. It is unlikely that even by joint efforts, Iran and North Korea will soon be able to create a full-fledged intercontinental missile designed specifically for Iran. It is noteworthy that the latest Korean missiles of the Tephodong family already have an intercontinental range, but the possibility of mastering their production in Iran raises serious doubts.
Currently, the creation of a Euro-Atlantic missile defense system is in full swing, although not without scandals. Its official purpose is to defend Europe and America from the so-called intercontinental missiles. unreliable regimes. At the same time, the lack of a large number of such ammunition in developing countries, such as Iran or North Korea, gives a very serious reason to doubt the prospects and even the very need for the creation of anti-missile systems. Moreover, similar doubts are expressed by American officials. For example, according to T Collins, a leading employee of the American Association for Arms Control, the construction of a missile defense position area on the east coast of the United States by 2015 does not make sense. In addition, Collina does not see any sense in the early completion of the construction of the European part of the missile defense, which, moreover, is the subject of disputes with Russia.
As a result, it turns out that until a certain time the greatest danger to foreign armies is not so much Iranian ballistic missiles as cruise missiles: anti-ship and designed to destroy ground targets. In the light of the recent geopolitical events around Iran, this type of weapons may eventually become the main means of defense. The fact is that in the event of a full-scale war against the Islamic Republic, the first strikes will be delivered with the help of the armaments of the fleet of the invading country. If it is the United States, then carrier-based aircraft will also participate in the strikes. It is quite obvious that the best defense against such an attack would be retaliatory strikes against naval groupings, and the most effective method would be the use of anti-ship missiles. Such a class of weapons, especially when using Kadir missiles, can greatly complicate a military operation against Iran.
If the Iranian shipbuilders are able to re-equip at least some of the ships of the naval forces with new missile systems, and the rocket builders provide the sailors with the necessary amount of ammunition, then the Iranian Navy will be able, at least, to complicate the attack using ships. The missile range of two hundred kilometers will allow attacking enemy ships with less risk, including at a great distance from the base. Thus, countries that consider Iran their adversary need to attend to the creation of naval and ground anti-aircraft systems capable of intercepting Iranian anti-ship missiles.
It is obvious that the development of naval missiles in Iran is going much faster than ballistic ammunition. For this reason, in the event of a military conflict, it is ship missiles designed to attack various objects that pose a much greater danger. With regard to ballistic missiles, their use in a hypothetical war is unlikely to be widespread. Medium-range missiles are only suitable for attacking enemy targets (for example, the nearest US bases) or for destroying large concentrations of enemy troops after they cross the border or land on the coast. It is sometimes mentioned that Iran can strike at targets of US allies, for example, Israel. It is difficult to determine the likelihood of such attacks, but a certain risk remains and may even increase if Israel decides to take part in a military operation against Iran.
Thus, the hypothetical adversary of Iran - currently the United States and NATO countries are considered the most likely candidates for this "title" - should pay the most attention to the armament of ships, designed for both attack and defense. In this case, defense against ballistic missiles becomes a priority for enemy allies located at an insufficient distance from Iran. Europe and both Americas do not fall under this definition, so all the unrest and disputes around the Euro-Atlantic missile defense system in the case of Iranian missiles look rather strange.
