Raad-500
Short-range ballistic missile
Raad-500 (Persian: موشک رعد ۵۰۰) is an Iranian solid-fueled SRBM/Tactical ballistic missile. It is equipped with a progressive composite engine that is dubbed as "Zohair (Persian: زهیر)". Raad-500 means "Thunder 500", and it was designed by halving the weight of the previous Iranian missile (Fateh-110) whose body was made from metal; whereas the range of this new Iranian ballistic missile increased two hundred kilometers more than Fateh-110), and its final range is 500 kilometers.
The Raad-500, is significantly shorter than its predecessor (7.61m compared to 8.86m) yet can reportedly reach 500 km. Its warhead is smaller but still powerful, and designed to separate in the early midcourse phase, making it more difficult to detect, track, and intercept than unibody missiles like the Fateh-110, or those with warheads that separate in the terminal phase.
01Specifications
In 2022, Iran Watch wrote that the circular error probable (CEP) was 30m.
This ballistic missile possesses a solid rocket motor made of carbon fiber composites, it makes the motor casing able to bear pressures up to one hundred bars.
02Unveiling
Raad-500 missile was unveiled on 9 February 2020 in Tehran by the attendance of IRGC's Chief Commander Major General Hossein Salami, and likewise Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of Aerospace Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Raad-500 and Zolfaghar missiles were exhibited by Iran at a military exposition in Moscow in August 2023.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Raad-500”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- National Aerospace Park opening ceremony (124).jpg by Mohammad Shaltouki, CC BY 4.0
- National Aerospace Park opening ceremony (114).png by Mohammad Shaltouki, CC BY 4.0
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