Iran reportedly carried out successful anti-ship ballistic missile test

March 8, 2017

IHS Jane’s 360:

Iran carried out two tests of its anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM) on 4-5 March, with the second successfully hitting a floating platform 155 miles (250 km) away, according to two US officials cited by Fox News.

The report was not confirmed by Iran or other media organisations.

Iran’s Khalij Fars ASBM is a version of the Fateh-110 solid-fuel tactical ballistic missile fitted with an infrared seeker to enable it to home in on a ship’s heat signature. Successful tests were announced in February 2011 and July 2013, and a US Department of Defense (DoD) report to Congress in 2014 said the system was being delivered to operational units.

Although Fox News did not refer to the Khalij Fars by name, it cited a US official as saying the tests involved a “Fateh-110 Mod 3” with a “new active seeker”.

One was launched from the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps base in Bandar-e-Jask on the Gulf of Oman and landed “in the vicinity” of the floating platform it was aimed at on 4 March, and a second launched on the following day hit the target, the official said.

“It’s a concern based on the range and that one of the missiles worked,” one official was quoted as saying…

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