Why are Hypersonic Missiles raising alarm in Iran-Israel conflict?
Iran is boasting that it has hypersonic missiles and says it already has begun firing the cutting-edge weapons at Israel.There is no evidence that Iran has unleashed the missiles, and experts are skeptical of the claim.But the use of these fast-moving projectiles could test Israel's vaunted missile-defense system and alter the course of the fighting between the two bitter enemies.advertisement
Here's a closer look at these advanced weapons:WHAT IS A HYPERSONIC MISSILE?Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard claimed Wednesday that it had fired what it said were hypersonic 'Fattah 1' missiles toward Israel. But whether these missiles are hypersonic is a matter of debate.Simply put, hypersonic weapons are any missile that travels beyond Mach 5, five times the speed of sound. Ballistic missiles, fired high up or outside the earth's atmosphere, routinely reach this speed.But in modern warfare, experts say hypersonic weapons must also have advanced navigation systems – making them nimble and capable of changing their trajectory. This can challenge traditional defense systems, said Jack Watling, a senior fellow at the Royal United Services Institute.Traditional ballistic missiles fly on a trajectory that missile-defense systems like the U.S.-made Patriot can anticipate. Cruise missiles, which can hug terrain, or hypersonic missiles, which are fired to a lower altitude, have less predictable trajectories and are harder to stop.advertisement'Radar can see a missile on a ballistic curve because it's above the radar horizon. If it's a hypersonic glide vehicle, it can fly lower and hills get in the way,' Watling said. 'That further reduces the time that you will have to engage because if it comes over the horizon, you suddenly see it, and then it's over.'WHO IS DEVELOPING THEM?Experts say the U.S. and China are the only countries that have developed new-generation hypersonic missiles — but neither have used them in battle. Other nations such as Russia, North Korea and Pakistan have tested or used missiles with similar but less sophisticated technology.'In the way that it is currently being used, the term 'hypersonic' often has little to no meaning and at the same time fuels competitive dynamics and a fear of missing out on the technology,' according to a 2022 report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.The U.S. says it is putting hypersonic missiles on a stealth destroyer and is developing and testing other programs.China tested its first hypersonic missile in 2017 and has since developed an array of hypersonic weapons that the U.S. Defense Department says could threaten Hawaii, Alaska and even the continental U.S.advertisementSecretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has warned of China's ' huge investments ' in military technology including hypersonic weapons.Most countries can't make missiles that would weather the temperature and momentum stresses of these incredibly fast munitions, Watling said.'This is a hugely complicated task. The Iranians don't have the capacity to manufacture them,' he said.Most of the missiles Iran has deployed against Israel travel at hypersonic speed, but are barely maneuverable, so are not considered true hypersonic missiles, said Yehoshua Kalisky, a senior researcher at the Israeli think tank INSS and a former scientist in Israeli defense industries.The missile it has launched, the Fattah 1 has had minimal success. Israel says Iran has fired over 400 missiles, with over 40 causing damage or casualties.'Israel is able to intercept more than 95% of the missiles because speed is not crucial,' said Kalisky. 'What is important is the maneuverability of the incoming missiles, and so far the maneuverability of these missiles is limited.'He said Iran has two fast and maneuverable missiles, the Khorramshahr and Fattah 2, that would be 'more difficult' to intercept. But neither have been deployed.WHEN AND WHERE HAVE HYPERSONIC MISSILES BEEN USED?advertisementRussia has claimed to have used hypersonic missiles in its war against Ukraine, but experts say that while fast they do not maneuver enough to be considered true hypersonic weapons.Russia President Vladimir Putin boasted of the development and use of the Orenshik in Ukraine — claiming that flies 'like a meteorite' at 10 times the speed of sound, and that it was immune to any missile defense system. Ukrainian military officials said it reached Mach 11.The Pentagon said last December the Oreshnik fired was an experimental type of intermediate-range ballistic missile.Russia has also claimed its Kinzhal missile is hypersonic, but Ukraine has been able to intercept them with the U.S.-made Patriot missile defense system.During the recent fighting between India and Pakistan over the disputed territory of Kashmir, Pakistan said it destroyed a Russian-built S-400 air defense system in India's border Punjab state with hypersonic missiles launched from a warplane.Brazil, Australia, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Iran, Japan, South Korea and North Korea all have hypersonic weapons programs. The European Union is studying how to develop an interceptor for hypersonic missiles as it ramps up defense spending to counter the Russian threat.Must Watch
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Mint
22 minutes ago
- Mint
Life in Iran after the strikes: Executions, arrests and paranoia
As soon as U.S. and Israeli bombs stopped raining down on Iran, the country's theocratic leaders and the security forces emerged from their bunkers and began waging a new campaign—this time against their own people, targeting alleged spies, dissidents and opposition figures. Checkpoints have sprung up across Tehran as the authorities seek to reassert control and hunt people they suspect helped Israel's attacks on air defenses, nuclear sites, and top officers and atomic scientists in a 12-day air war that exposed the state's inability to defend itself. As the smell of high explosives hung in the air of the capital, police and intelligence officers arrested hundreds of people, and are detaining more each day. Armed paramilitary police are patrolling the streets. People are being stopped and having their cars, phones and computers searched. The government announced the hasty execution of at least six men. 'The situation for Iranian people is more dangerous now than before the war," said Narges Mohammadi, a Nobel Prize-winning Iranian human-rights activist who is one of the country's highest profile opposition figures. She said the regime would do what it takes to consolidate power and is cracking down. More than 1,000 people have been detained over the past two weeks for allegedly aiding Israel, according to Amnesty International. Esmail Qaani—who leads the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' elite Quds Force and was reported to have been killed—appeared at a pro-regime rally in Tehran hours after the cease-fire began, according to a video posted by Revolutionary Guard-affiliated Tasnim News Agency. Wearing a black beret, he appeared on a busy street crowded with regime supporters who waved Iranian flags. The Shia Islamist regime has also stepped up efforts to enforce the regime's strict rules governing what it considers to be appropriate behavior and dress. 'The morality police are back," said a 44-year-old woman who said she had fled Tehran during the war. 'The police even stopped us and questioned us, because the socks of the woman with me were too see-through." Israeli and U.S. airstrikes marked the first time Iran had come under sustained foreign attack on its own soil since an eight-year war with Iraq in the 1980s. The capital, Tehran, emerged as a primary war zone, and the Revolutionary Guard found itself in the crosshairs. Throughout the strikes, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei sheltered in a bunker outside Tehran, unreachable by anyone but his closest allies, according to an Arab official briefed on the matter and an adviser to the Revolutionary Guard. His isolation complicated talks in Geneva with European nations seeking to mediate an end to the war, Arab officials said. On Thursday, he spoke to the nation for the first time since June 19, seeking to play down the damage from the attack and rally the nation around the Iranian flag. 'The Islamic Republic was victorious, and in return dealt a harsh blow to America's face," he said in a hoarse voice. The attacks showed how deeply Israel's Mossad intelligence agency had infiltrated Iran. They slipped explosive drones and other munitions into Iran, where they were used by teams of agents to take out air defenses and kill high profile targets. 'The Israelis organized penetrations, transfers of bombs and explosives, and recruited people from within," Mohammad Amin-Nejad, Iran's ambassador to France, told French broadcaster France 24 last week. It happened 'right before our eyes. There were vulnerabilities." The atmosphere in Tehran remains tense as people start heading back to work and trying to resume normal life, residents reached by phone said. Iran's state-controlled media report new arrests and weapons seizures every day. Authorities said Tuesday they had filed 24 cases against alleged Israeli spies in Hamedan, a western Iranian city whose air base was heavily damaged on the first day of the strikes. The suspects 'were sending information, photos, and videos to the enemy," a media report said. Access to the internet was restored Wednesday after being cut off for more than a week. But an official warning not to use messaging services such as WhatsApp was still in effect. The regime says it fears Israeli spies could hack into conversations and gain information. On Wednesday, Iran's intelligence ministry told residents to report any suspicious calls. Earlier, it passed out a set of tips about how to spot a spy. The guidance warned citizens to watch their neighbors for comings and goings at odd hours; heavy use of masks, hats and sunglasses; and signs like metallic banging inside their homes. Spies, the tips said, might live in houses with 'curtains that remain closed even during daylight hours." The domestic crackdown is adding to the widespread feeling of anxiety caused by the war. Dozens of Israeli strikes pounded Tehran, taking aim at missile and nuclear facilities, as well as symbols of the regime and its repression, including the infamous Evin Prison, where political prisoners are held. Tehran's affluent northern neighborhoods, home to many of the targeted nuclear scientists and senior commanders, were some of the worst-hit in the air campaign, rattling the city's elite. Tehran experienced some of the most intense bombardments of the war just hours before the cease-fire came into effect. Residents spent many of their nights awake, sometimes watching the war unfold from their balconies and rooftops, as missiles flashed across the sky followed by explosions and fires. Iran's health ministry said more than 600 people were killed and more than 4,800 injured during the war, according to state-run media, which didn't say how many were from the armed forces. While Iran remained defiant, it took precautions by transporting some of its most precious assets abroad. After Israel began targeting some energy infrastructure, Iran began transferring large amounts of stored crude to Asia, said Homayoun Falakshahi, head of crude-oil analysis at data commodities company Kpler. As of June 22, the quantity of stored crude at Kharg Island—Iran's main point of oil exports—had dropped, while volumes of Iranian oil stored near Singapore and China had risen, he said. The roughly five million barrels likely transferred abroad were worth about $375 million at oil prices prevailing at the time. Last week, Iran flew at least four civilian aircraft to the Omani capital of Muscat for safekeeping. One of the planes included Iran's presidential Airbus A340, which landed in Muscat on June 18, according to flight trackers. Arab officials were surprised to learn the planes were empty of passengers. Instead, they said, they carried cash and assets, which Iranians weren't allowed to offload because of sanctions. The planes themselves were also valuable as emergency exits for top officials. The precautions show the level of pressure on Iran's rulers during the war. They now have to find a way forward with no control of their own airspace and no help from their militias. A crippling burden of sanctions will make rebuilding even harder. 'This was one of the most serious security breaches in the regime's history, but it wasn't a turning point. The leadership held, the streets stayed quiet, and the system proved again that it's built not for popularity, but for survival," said Narges Bajoghli, associate professor at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. 'Iran's system is built to withstand shocks," Bajoghli said. 'The regime hasn't collapsed. It's adapting, and younger IRGC and paramilitary cadres are stepping in—many of them more hard-line than those who were killed." Write to Sudarsan Raghavan at Sune Engel Rasmussen at and Margherita Stancati at
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First Post
an hour ago
- First Post
Lessons Israel-Iran war has for India's Operation Sindoor
India has to learn from Israel the contours of future war, where the enemy could be already well within the gates, wreaking havoc when it is given the signal read more It may be too early to learn lessons from the Israel-Iran war, but there are certainly some quick takeaways for India. Because Operation Sindoor is not over, and terrorism from Pakistan is unlikely to end as long as the army is in control there. Don't forget also that everyone is watching the war calibration carefully. Lessons will be learnt by all sides in this for their own purposes. And that's where we need to think and analyse and plan for the future. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Deep Intelligence The first aspect of the war is that Israel had access to precise intelligence on the ground in terms of a continuous feed. Fodrow, Natanz and others were static bases and needed no great intelligence capability. But the targeting of some 14 scientists is a different game altogether. Reports indicate that the majority were killed by explosive-laden drones, indicating a very high level of internal penetration into Iran. Israel has always had a formidable intelligence capability. But this was something else, and it's an open question what kind of deep assets it used when the 'go' command was given. For depend upon this. Such assets are not built overnight. That is worrying in terms of future wars. That means India has to not just up its technical intelligence for the future but also use technology to guard against such locally launched attacks – which could be on intel agencies, on high officials, and on personnel of sensitive installations. So far, the thrust of defence expenditure has been in securing the country's borders. Time to look inwards. Sindoor as Template The second aspect is rather the reverse. In many ways, the US operation, 'Midnight Hammer', was a textbook copy of 'Operation Sindoor'. Trump's announcement of having targeted 'only' nuclear sites, clear signs of talking to Iranians, and most of all, a series of moves to end the war quickly, something that the US is not known for. Those moves included allowing China to continue to buy oil – though sanctions remain – thus ensuring that outside powers did not take a hand. Iran was mollified by leaving open the possibility of sanctions relief. Then was his weighing heavily on Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, to end his continuing strikes. Since the US could at any time stop its missile interception assistance for Israel, this arm-twisting was likely to have had a telling effect. The Standoff War Another takeaway from both operations is the 'stand-off' wars. Prior to US entry into Iran, Washington made sure that Israel had managed complete air superiority with bombing and missile raids. Even then it used a formidable array of aircraft that included the famed Stealth B-2's, practically invisible to radar, and fighter aircraft from its many bases in West Asia. And to make trebly sure, some 'two dozen' land-attack cruise missiles were fired from a submarine which was entirely undetected, at Isfahan. All attacks were at the extreme west of Iran, indicating that aircraft had no intention of doing a flyby and 'loitering' in the war zone. The blueprint of overwhelming force is used since even one aircraft lost would have been the political end for President Trump. No cities were hit, and US intel would have known full well that the major sites had been evacuated. But the lesson is that when there are no serious casualties, escalation is unlikely. This was also the case in Sindoor, where casualties were few. India did not have such a luxury of a package of aircraft (not to mention bases from where fighters could take off and provide protective cover), nor did it even enter Pakistan. But both provide a lesson in 'stand-off' wars. That means a line of technology development that includes, vitally, the ability of continuous satellite monitoring. India's own space programmes need to take note, and quickly. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Control of the Narrative Another issue to assess is control of the narrative. Even today, the imagery that is being discussed all over the internet is that of Iran. The damages to Israel were kept under wraps, with even the last missile strike by Iran, which mowed down three buildings at Beersheba, with casualties estimated at 4, which seems incredible given the clearly apparent destruction. But Israelis have long been used to violence and have safe rooms, standard procedures for quick evacuation and bunkers. What was hidden even more was the cost that Israel had to take on, with one estimate putting this at $3 billion in immediate costs, while tax authorities estimate costs at more than double the sum of claims stemming from the October 7 attack plus all 615 days since. And that's just claims for damages to property. Apart from this is the loss of man hours and its effect on gross domestic product. But the point is that none of this was apparent in an independent media, with the opposition swiftly putting aside rivalry in a show of national solidarity. It was only after a truce was declared that the Opposition lambasted Trump for interfering in the criminal charges against Netanyahu, which began in 2020 for fraud and breach of trust. Israel, like India, enjoyed widespread support after the first Hamas attack, which, however, rapidly deteriorated as its war entered its 629th day. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Even the recent meeting of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation saw a split – as did the G-7 meeting – over the question of the Iran war. In the end, the general consensus is that Iran can still make the bomb, perhaps in months. The takeaway of this lesson is probably that warmaking seldom wins friends and, in today's world, may not even deliver desired objectives. Far better to build up a narrative, as Defence Minister Rajnath Singh did recently when he refused to sign on to a joint statement of the Shanghai Organisation Cooperation while calling out the double standards on terrorism. But overall, here's the sum of it all. Internally, India has managed Kashmir without inordinate use of force; in fact, with 'one hand tied behind its back'. That, together with the manifold changes after the revocation of Article 370, had integrated Kashmir to the rest of India even more, not the other way around. That's something Tel Aviv should learn. But India has to, in turn, learn from Israel the contours of future war, where the enemy could be already well within the gates, wreaking havoc when it is given the signal. In this, both Pakistan and China are better placed than India. Time to reverse that, either with human assets – which are difficult for obvious reasons – and with technology. Future iterations of Operation Sindoor need to keep this clearly in the forefront. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The author is Director (R&A) at the Centre for Land Warfare Studies. She tweets @kartha_tara. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost's views.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Iranians CHANT ‘Death To US & Israel' At Funeral For Commanders, Nuclear Scientists Killed In War
Iranians chanted 'Death To America' and 'Death To Israel' at 'historic' state funeral for military commanders and nuclear scientists. Social media footage showed Iranians donning black clothes, marching through streets of Tehran behind coffins of around 60 people with Iranian flags. Coffins draped in the Iranian flag, bearing portraits of deceased commanders, were flanked by crowds near Tehran's Enghelab Square. Watch for more details.
