Amidst the ongoing war in the Middle East, Iran has launched rapid attacks on enemy targets with its most modern and accurate ‘Khybershikan’ ballistic missile. According to claims by Iranian media and the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), during the recent conflict, a heavy barrage of Khybershikan lethal missiles has been used to target US military bases in the Gulf region.
The IRGC claimed that the missile attack was carried out in two phases under the eighth wave of ‘Operation Nasr-2’ codenamed ‘Ya Zainab Kubra (S)’ in response to the US attacks. In this, the maintenance ramp of fighter planes and America’s new command and control center at the American airbase in Al-Azraq, Jordan were targeted and destroyed with ‘Khybershikan’ ballistic missiles.
How deadly is ‘Khaybarshikan’ missile?
The name of this missile is taken from the ‘Khyber War’ of history, which in Arabic means ‘destroyer of the fort of Khyber’. Khybershikan is considered to be Iran’s third generation most advanced medium-range ballistic missile. Let us also know about its power.
- Accurate strike capability: This missile can hit a distance of about 1,450 kilometers (900 miles). Its jurisdiction includes the whole of Israel and all American bases in the Gulf region.
- Solid Fuel Technology: Khybershikan uses solid fuel. Due to this, preparation for launching the missile takes less than 15 minutes and it can be easily hidden and taken anywhere.
- Storm speed of Mach 12: Its speed in air can reach 12 times more than the speed of sound (about 19,500 km/h). Due to this supersonic/hypersonic speed, it becomes impossible for the enemy air defense system to stop it.
- Ability to change course in the air: The biggest strength of Khybershikan is its ability to change direction (maneuver) towards the target in the final phase. Because of this, it easily dodges America’s ‘Patriot’ defense system.
- Light and deadly: Being made of composite material, its weight is only 4.5 tonnes, which is much less than other missiles. It can carry with itself 550 kg of destructive ammunition.
​Khybershikan can be fired by loading it on any 10 wheeled normal commercial truck type launcher. In such a situation, finding and destroying them in the war zone is proving to be a big challenge even for modern countries like America and Israel.
How many missiles has Iran fired so far?
Iran has used this missile in installments and in a very strategic manner. Earlier, Iran had used Khybershikan extensively during its major missile attacks on Israel (such as 181 missiles fired in October 2024). Apart from this, during the recent conflict, Iran has launched several waves of missile attacks against American and Israeli targets. According to IRGC, recently mass firing of Khybershikan and Fatah missiles has been done under the 22nd wave of ‘Operation True Promise’.
Before the war, Iran was estimated to have a stock of 3,000 to 4,000 ballistic missiles and in the current war, Iran has fired hundreds of missiles from its stock so that the enemy’s air defense can be completely exhausted and destroyed.
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