Iran’s First Solid Fuel Missile: How Powerful is the Sejil Now Being Fired at Israel?

<p >On June 18 Iranian authorities sources for the primary time reported the usage of Sejil medium vary ballistic missiles for strikes on Israeli targets, as a part of the most recent collection of assaults by the Revolutionary Guard Corps underneath Operation True Promise 3. Initiated within the late hours of June 13, the operation was launched in response to <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/israel-doing-the-western-world-s-dirty-work-german-chancellor-praises-attack-on-iran-amid-renewed-support" goal="_blank">Israeli air strikes</a> on a variety of Iranian targets earlier that day, together with associations of senior navy officers and scientists, and the concentrating on of key navy and civilian infrastructure. The Corps has fired more and more succesful missiles at Israel as the 2 nations have exchanged a number of rounds of fireplace, though it stays unsure whether or not additional assaults utilizing Sejil have been launched after the primary assault utilizing three of the missiles. Developed from the early 2000s, the Sejil was considered one of Iran’s first missile class which used a strong gas composite, permitting it to be saved totally fuelled and thus minimising its launch time. This made the missile and its related launch car much more survivable earlier than firing, growing the challenges for hostile plane, such because the <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/israeli-strike-damages-iran-arak-reactor" goal="_blank">Israeli fighters presently working </a>round Iranian airspace, when searching for to focus on it. </p><p ><img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2025/06/20/article_685542373abd57_30561495.JPG" title="Destruction in Tel Aviv After Iranian Ballistic Missile Strikes"></p><p >Following Iran’s license manufacturing of the North Korean Hwasong-7 because the Shahab-3 from the late Nineteen Nineties, which supplied the nation with its first medium vary ballistic missile functionality, the Revolutionary Guard Corps reportedly procured longer ranged North Korean Hwasong-10 ballistic missiles within the mid-2000s. The Hwasong-10 might have been meant as a stopgap till the indigenous Sejil was prepared for service. A number of stories have indicated that the Sejil was developed with intensive North Korean help, and made important use of parts from the East Asian nation a minimum of for its preliminary manufacturing fashions. Subsequent additional indigenisation of manufacturing strains has been speculated. The Sejil was first take a look at launched in 2008, and started to enter service close to the center of the 2010s. The missile makes use of a strong gas composite in each of its two phases, and has a reported vary of two,500 kilometres, broadly equal to that of early variants of the Hwasong-10, whereas carrying a bigger 700 kilogram payload. Plenty of sources have reported that the missiles can carry submunition warheads, with a number of Israeli sources reporting that a few of the not too long ago fired missiles have been geared up with such explosives for current strikes. </p><p ><img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2025/06/20/article_685542633af591_01265439.jpg" title="Shahab-3 Ballistic Missile License Produced in Iran"></p><p >The Sejil has been among the many most secretive of Iran’s missile applications, with its lack of a North Korean origin additionally being an element limiting the small print out there. It’s speculated, nevertheless, that the missile makes use of a manoeuvrable reentry car to raised evade enemy air defences, with such applied sciences having been exported to Iran and Syria by North Korea from the late Nineteen Nineties in response to Israel’s procurement of <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/israel-replenishes-ukrainian-patriot-air-defence" goal="_blank">Patriot air defence programs</a> on the time. On the time of the outbreak of hostilities between Iran and Israel, the Sejil remained an ongoing program, with new extra succesful variants of the missile persevering with to be developed. Plenty of sources reported that an intermediate vary ballistic missile based mostly on the Sejil design, with an prolonged 4000 kilometre vary, is now underneath improvement, which might enable the Revolutionary Guard Corps to strike American and allied navy bases throughout a lot of Europe. Iran’s skill to focus on distant American navy amenities, the massive majority of which lack ballistic missile defences, is believed to have contributed to deterring American intervention to extra actively help Israel’s ongoing offensives. </p><p ><img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2025/06/20/article_685544bbecbb24_20182178.jpg" title="Newly Produced Sejil Ballistic Missile on Show"></p><p >A serious shortcoming of Iran’s missile arsenal is its lack of chemical or nuclear warheads, which has restricted its potential in comparison with the arsenal fielded by North Korea and previously by Syria. The appreciable prices of delivering very lengthy vary payloads, mixed with the restricted injury that may be performed with 500-700 kilograms of standard explosives, has restricted the attraction of pairing very lengthy vary missiles with standard warheads. The Iranian civilian authorities has prohibited the event of unconventional warheads, which has been more and more broadly criticised domestically for constraining the nation’s missile deterrent. Though the Sejil was beforehand thought-about to face on the excessive finish of the Iranian arsenal, its standing has diminished considerably as extra refined missile lessons having been introduced into service. The hypersonic glide car geared up Fattah missile, which additionally noticed its<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/iran-launches-first-strike-isreal-mach-13-fattah-hypersonic" goal="_blank" > first fight use on June 18</a>, is presently thought-about among the many most succesful each within the Center East and within the wider world as a result of its superior penetrative capabilities. The strong fuelled medium vary missile was developed by constructing on the applied sciences developed for the Sejil, though its use of a hypersonic glide car is believed to make it considerably extra pricey. With the Fattah having entered service solely in 2021, the numbers out there in service may be extra restricted. </p>



Source link