Recent media reports claim Russia has received Fath-360 missile systems from Iran, along with hundreds of missiles. Here is what that weapon system looks like, and how it could influence the war in Ukraine.
Fath-360: The Iranian Missile Reportedly In Russian Hands
A Fath-360 missile is launched during military exercises in southern Iran in November 2022.
The short-range ballistic missile was first unveiled at a Tehran military parade in April 2022. Fath means “conquest” in Persian. Each 5.2-meter-long missile can carry a 150-kilogram warhead. That is some three times the explosive charge of the notorious Iranian-designed Shahed drones that have killed scores of Ukrainian civilians since first being deployed by Russia in 2022.
A Fath-360 missile system is paraded in Tehran in September 2022.
The weapon's missile pods are hidden inside the trailer of a truck designed to look like a civilian vehicle, making its detection from the air difficult. Fath-360 missiles have a relatively imprecise hit radius of around 30 meters, meaning they are likely to be used against large stationary targets such as buildings and infrastructure.
An Iranian-designed Shahed drone is shot down over Kyiv in May 2023.
With a maximum speed of nearly 5,000 kilometers per hour, the Fath-360 is infinitely more difficult to intercept than the airplane-like Shahed drones. But the missile’s shorter range of 120 kilometers means it is likely to pose a threat only to areas near the front lines.
Iran’s military chief, Major General Mohammad Bagheri (right), meets with Russian Security Council chief Sergei Shoigu in Tehran on August 5.
Reports that Tehran was training Russian soldiers in using Iranian missiles emerged after this meeting between top military officials of Russia and Iran.
A poster in Tehran shows a larger missile from the same family as the Fath-360.
Tehran has denied reports its missiles are being supplied to Russia but a senior Iranian lawmaker appeared to contradict the official line. On September 7, Ahmad Bakhshayesh Ardestani told Iranian media, "We have to barter for our needs, including importing soybeans and wheat. Part of the barter involves sending missiles, and another part involves sending military drones to Russia."
A truck-mounted Iranian missile is fired into Iraq in September 2022.
A U.S. State Department spokesperson on September 9 told reporters Washington was "incredibly alarmed" by reports of the Fath-360 missile systems being handed to Russia and warned of unspecified “significant consequences” if the reports were confirmed.