Iranian missiles could cause major issues for Ukraine’s air defences, military expert says
Iranian Zolfaghar missiles may be sold to Russia (Photo:Tasnim News Agency)
Iranian Zolfaghar and Fateh-110 short-range surface-to-surface ballistic missiles – should Russia get its hand on them – could represent a major challenge for Ukrainian air defences, Oleh Zhdanov, a military analyst, explained in an interview with NV Radio on Oct. 22.
“These missiles are equipped with submunitions warheads, which detach during their final approach,” said Zhdanov.
“As far as I know, no one has conducted tests in terms of the capability of modern air defence systems – such as IRIS-T or NASAMS – to intercept these missiles. It will be a problem for us. Based on previous years, such range missiles are extremely difficult to intercept. Because the flight time is very short and air defence reaction must be instantaneous. There’s almost no time to launch an interceptor missile.”
Iran has agreed to supply surface-to-surface ballistic missiles to Russia, Reuters reported on Oct. 18, citing U.S. officials and Iranian diplomats.
Ukraine’s Air Force Command spokesman Yuriy Ihnat later said Ukraine still doesn't have sufficient air defence capacity to deal with this type of missiles.
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