Iran’s Missile Flight Tests

CIAO DATE: 08/04

Iran’s Missile Flight Tests

Ali Chaudhry

July 2004

Missile	Description	Missile’s Estimated Range	Estimated Development Start Date	Flight Test	Notes
Mushak–120 / Iran–130	Modified CSS–8 surface–surface missile. Solid propellant. Payload of	1,300km	1990, with Chinese assistance.	Unknown.	Now manufactured indigenously.
Mushak–160 / Fateh–110	0.45m diameter. Solid propellant. Surface–surface missile.	170km.	1997. Based on the Chinese DF–11A.	2 tests: May 31, 2001. Sept. 6, 2002.	No details were given. Now manufactured locally.
Mushak–200 / Zelzal–2	Version of the Luna–M (NATO name FROG–7) rocket. 8.3m long rocket. Payload of 600kg.	200km.	In development.	Unknown.	New derivative, Zelzal, was exhibited in 1999.
Shahab–1 / Scud–B	Single–stage, liquid propellant. 11m long and 85–90cm diameter. Payload of 800kg.	300km.	Bought from Libya and Syria in 1985–86, from North Korea in 1987 and maybe also Russia.	Used extensively in war with Iraq, from 1985–1988.	Core if Iran’s ballistic missile defenses. Able to manufacture most of it at home.
Shahab–2 / Scud–C	Based on the Scud–B and Chinese DF–61. Payload of 700 kilograms. Capable of carrying chemical and biological weapons.	500km.	Bought from North Korea in 1990.	Unknown.	Can be assembled locally now with foreign imports.
Shahab–3 / Zelzal–3	Derivative of the North Korean No Dong–1. Single–stage, liquid–fueled missile. 15.2m long, 1.2m diameter. Payload of 1,000km.	1,300km.	First shipments from North Korea were halted due to U.S. pressure in 1993, but Iran had received at least 10 missiles by 1996. Local production began in May 2002.	9 flight tests: 1997 July 22, 1998 September 1998 July 15, 2000 Sept 21, 2000 May 23, 2002 July 2002 July 4, 2002 July 7, 2003.	Ground Tests. Flight test could have been a failure but not sure. Flight test. Successful test. Failed test. Successful test. Unreported, failed. Successful test. Successful, declared final test.
Shahab–4	Derivative of the North Korean Nodong–2 and the Soviet SS–4. Payload of 1,000kg.	2000km.	Development began with assistance from Russia and China	Unknown.	Local development was announced but suspended in November 2003
Shahap–5 / Kosar	Variant of the North Korean the Taepo Dong 1 and Taepo Dong 2. Both are two–stage, liquid–fueled intermediate–range ballistic missiles.	3,500–5,500km.	Reports from 1995 and 1996 claim that Iran has begun research and development of the missile, but are not confirmed.	Unknown.	Development is highly unlikely and reports are speculative.

Sources:

Andrew Feickert, “Missile Survey: Ballistic and Cruise Missiles of Foreign Countries,” Congressional Research Service, March, 5 2004

Anthony H. Cordesman, “Proliferation in the “Axis of Evil”: North Korea, Iran, and Iraq,” Center for Strategic and International Studies, Jan. 3 2003

Anthony H. Cordesman, “Iran and Nuclear Weapons,” Center for Strategic and International Studies, Feb. 7 2003

GlobalSecurity.org “Iran Special Weapons Guide,” Dec. 13, 2003

Joseph Cirincione, Jon B. Wolfsthal, Miriam Rajkumar, “Deadly Arsenals,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, June 2002

Ronald H. Siegel, “The Missile Programs of North Korea, Iraq, and Iran,” Institute for Defense & Disarmament Studies, September 2001

“Unclassified Report to Congress on the Acquisition of Technology Relating to Weapons of Mass Destruction and Advanced Conventional Munitions,” Central Intelligence Agency, Aug. 10, 2000. July 1–Dec. 31, 1999 Internet edition