loading…
Iran has launched a Kheibar missile capable of reaching Israeli territory. Now Iran is preparing to launch a hypersonic missile. Photo/WANA via REUTERS
TEHERAN – Iran announced that it will launch soon hypersonic missile. This announcement was made by the Head of the Aerospace Unit of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Amirali Hajizadeh.
The announcement came Monday, or days after the country’s military unveiled a new ballistic missile capable of reaching a range of 2,000 kilometers (1,242 miles) and carrying a warhead weighing more than one ton.
“The hypersonic missile has passed the test and will be launched soon,” Hajizadeh said, as quoted by the Tasnim news agency, Tuesday (30/5/2023).
“This new missile is capable of bypassing all missile defense systems. It targets the enemy’s anti-missile system and is a huge leap forward in the missile field,” he said.
“Hypersonic missiles have high speed and can maneuver in and out of the atmosphere,” he added.
In November, Hajizadeh made initial claims that Iran had developed a hypersonic missile.
The claim was met with skepticism by Washington, with a Pentagon spokesperson saying the US was skeptical of the statement.
Hypersonic missiles can fly at speeds at least five times the speed of sound, following complex trajectories that make intercepting them difficult.
Unlike ballistic missiles, hypersonic missiles travel at lower altitudes in the atmosphere, potentially allowing them to reach their targets more quickly.
