Iran unveils ‘Fattah,’ its first hypersonic missile

June 6, 2023  — The Jerusalem Post reports: “Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) unveiled the ‘Fattah,’ the regime’s first hypersonic missile, on Tuesday morning, Iranian state media announced.

The unveiling ceremony was attended by Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, IRGC Commander-in-Chief Hossein Salami and other high-ranking officials. Later in the day, Iranian media published footage purporting to show a test launch of the missile.

According to Iranian media, the Fattah hypersonic missile has a range of 1,400 kilometers and hits speeds of Mach 13-15. The reports claimed that the missile is able to bypass and destroy air defense systems.

The Fattah features a moveable secondary nozzle and uses solid propellants, allowing it to reach high speeds and ‘perform various maneuvers inside and outside the earth’s atmosphere,’ according to the Iranian Fars News Agency…”  (They may threaten Israel, but Psalm 121 states: I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.  My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.  He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.  Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.  The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand.  The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.   The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.  The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.  Notice especially verse 4 – Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.  During his confrontation with the prophets of Baal, Elijah mocked the prophets after they were unable to get a response from Baal.  I Kings 18:27 states: And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked.  God does not sleep, and He will preserve Israel.  See the next four reports.)

Iran claims: Israel has no response to our new missile

June 7, 2023  — Israel National News reports: “The commander of the Aerospace Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Amir Ali Hajizadeh, said that the range of the ‘Fateh’ missile, which now reaches a range of 1,400 km, will soon be increased.

Speaking at a ceremony in which the missile was unveiled and which was attended by President Ebrahim Raisi, Hajizadeh said that Iran is the fourth country in the world that has developed the technological ability to produce missiles that are capable of changing course on their way to their target.

In light of the maneuverability of the Iranian hypersonic missile, he added, there is currently no anti-aircraft system capable of intercepting it in flight…”

Race on for protection against hypersonic missiles

June 26, 2023 —  SpaceWar.com reports: “Defence firms are racing to meet demand for systems to protect against attacks using tricky-to-intercept hypersonic missiles, with several on display at this week’s Paris Air Show.

Flying at multiples of the speed of sound, ‘everything’s going faster, that’s what changes the game,’ said Lionel Mazenq, of European missile maker MBDA’s Future Systems division.

‘They change course. It’s hard to know whether they’re coming towards you, it’s challenging to predict their behaviour,’ he added — although the new missiles ‘can be intercepted, especially in the terminal stage’ of their flight.

MBDA said Tuesday it had launched a three-year programme to develop an interceptor dubbed Aquila, with 19 partner firms from five EU nations — France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain.

Brussels is expected to chip in with 80 million euros ($87 million) from the European Commission.

But no MBDA interceptors are expected to fly before 2030…”

Defense tech firm Rafael reveals first-ever hypersonic interceptor

June 15, 2023  — The Times of Israel reports: “Israel’s Rafael defense contractor unveiled Wednesday that it has been developing a first-of-its-kind anti-hypersonic missile defense system.

According to the company, the Sky Sonic interceptor missile, which has been in development for around three years, will be shown for the first time at the upcoming Paris Air Show next week.

The announcement comes after Iran earlier this month claimed it had developed a new hypersonic missile. Rafael officials said the company had only recently been given approval by the Defense Ministry to reveal the system.

Rafael said the Sky Sonic missile ‘represents a major technological leap in hypersonic missile defense.’…”

Russia’s ‘hypersonic’ missiles rely on foreign parts, stocks depleted – report

June 26, 2023  — The Jerusalem Post reports: “The decreased intensity of the Russian missile attacks against Ukraine in July is the result of a dependency on foreign components for missile production, a representative of the Intelligence Directorate in the Ukrainian Defense Ministry told RBC Ukraine in an interview.

The representative, Vadym Skibitsky, explained that this is especially true for the production of the Kinzhal (‘dagger’ in Russian) missiles, which the Russians claim are hypersonic.

The Kinzhal is an air-launched ballistic missile capable of carrying nuclear or conventional warheads with a reported range of 1,500 to 2,000 km while carrying a payload of 480 kg. It may reach speeds of up to Mach 10 and is one of six ‘next generation’ weapons unveiled by President Vladimir Putin in a speech in March 2018. 

‘The largest number of foreign components, on which Russia critically depends, [are found] in two products, the Iskander and the Kinzhal: about fifty components of the electronic base in these missiles are of foreign production,’ said Skibitsky…”