Iran deploying cheap and accurate Kheibar Shekan missiles against US targets: report
Note: AI technology was used to generate this article’s audio.
Iran has been deploying its Kheibar Shekan ballistic missiles—described as cheap, mobile, and accurate weapons with a range of at least 1,400 kilometers—in recent strikes on US assets, according to US officials cited by The Wall Street Journal.
The solid-fuel, medium-range missiles stand out from older Iranian systems that require lengthy pre-launch fueling.
They can remain fueled and be rapidly loaded onto trucks or other vehicles, allowing launch crews to fire and relocate quickly to evade US and ‘Israeli’ jets targeting launch sites, military experts told the Journal.
While the United States and its allies have intercepted most of the Kheibar Shekans fired during the ongoing conflict, some have penetrated defenses.
Officials said Iran is employing varied flight paths, maneuvers, and speeds to confuse air-defense systems.
Certain variants feature small engines in the nose section that detach in the terminal phase, enabling last-minute course adjustments as the warhead approaches targets at roughly 10,000 kilometers per hour.
Iran is pairing the Kheibar Shekan launches with high-speed attack drones and less advanced missiles.
“I think what it tells us is Iran is paying attention, and they’re learning, and they’re looking at ways that they can get at us,” Army Gen. Joseph Votel, a former commander of U.S. Central Command, told the Journal.
“This is a military that has a well-developed drone capability; it’s had a missile program, a rocket program for a long period of time. They’ve got a lot of expertise in this area.”
Independent missile expert Fabian Hinz noted that Iran is studying earlier launches to improve its success rate.
“Every single combat use gives you some sort of data, so that’s very useful for the Iranians,” he said.
Analysts estimate Iran possessed about 2,500 Kheibar Shekan and other medium-range missiles before the current fighting intensified and may still be assembling more from components stored in underground facilities, though engine production sites have been damaged.
Iran has not disclosed the unit cost of a Kheibar Shekan, but experts told the Journal the missiles are far less expensive than the US and ‘Israeli’ interceptors used against them, which range from $2 million to $15 million apiece depending on the system.
