May 17, 2008

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Ghadr-110

Country:  Iran
Class:  IRBM
Basing:  Surface based
Propulsion:  First-stage liquid, second-stage solid
Range:  2500-3000 km
Status:  Development

Details

The Ghadr-110 is an intermediate-range ballistic missile currently being designed and developed by Iran. Sources indicate that the missile will have a range of between 2,500 and 3,000 km, which would allow it to attack targets as far as Western Europe.(1)

 

The Ghadr-110 is essentially an improved variant of the Shahab-3A, also known as the Ghadr-101. The new missile is believed to have a liquid-fuel first stage and a solid-fuel second stage, which would allow it to achieve its stated range of 2,500 to 3,000 km.(2) Sources also indicate that the Ghadr-110 has been designed in such a way that its range can be increased past 3,000 km, although evidence supporting this claim is not available.(3)

 

The Ghadr-110 is also believed to have a higher maneuverability than the Shahab-3.  While some sources believe that it is the same missile as the Shahab 4, the higher maneuverability as well as the 30 minute set-up time provide sufficient evidence to consider this a separate missile.(4) Sources also indicate that the Ghadr-110 is being manufactured entirely in Iran at the top-secret Hemmat Missile Industries Complex.(5)

 

In March 2006, the Paris-based Iranian opposition group, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), claimed that Iran had ramped up its development of the Ghadr-110, allegedly 70 percent complete at the time. The NCRI added that the new missile was expected to be entirely complete in one year’s time.(6)

 

 

Footnotes

 

  1. Douglas Jehl, “Iran is Said to Work on New Missile; Dissident Group Says Longer-Range Weapon Could Reach Europe,” International Herald Tribune, 2 December 2004; “Iran Working on Secret Missile Programs: Opposition Group,” AFP, 2 December 2004.
  2. Robin Hughes, “Iranian Resistance Group Alleges Tehran Is Developing New Medium-Range Ballistic Missile,” Jane’s Defence Weekly, 13 March 2006; Doug Richardson, “Iran Is Developing an IRBM, Claims Resistance Group,” Jane’s Missiles and Rockets, 1 January 2005; “Iran Working on Secret Missile Programs: Opposition Group,” Agence France Presse, 2 December 2004.
  3. “Top Secret Ghadr Missile Project,” Iran Watch.org, 3 December 2004, available at http://www.iranwatch.org/privateviews/NCRI/perspex-ncri-missiles-120304.htm. 
  4. Cf. “Top Secret Ghadr Missile Project,” Iran Watch.org, 3 December 2004, available at http://www.iranwatch.org/privateviews/NCRI/perspex-ncri-missiles-120304.htm with Duncan Lennox, ed., Jane’s Strategic Weapons Systems 46 (Surrey: Jane’s Information Group, January 2007), 71-73; Hughes, 13 March 2006; Richardson, 1 January 2005; Iran Watch.org, 3 December 2004. 
  5. Iran Watch.org, 3 December 2004.
  6. Hughes, 13 March 2006.

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