Russia-Iran missile deal: Launchers missing, impact on Ukraine

Russia received an unknown number of Fath-360 ballistic missiles from Iran but without launchers. We explain how this affects the Russians and how they might work around this inconvenience.

According to Reuters, citing sources in the USA, the Russians received short-range Fath-360 ballistic missiles in recent weeks. However, these are not yet operational because Iran did not deliver launchers for them.

There could be many reasons for this action. One might be the desire to have room for negotiations with Western countries regarding the easing of sanctions, and another could be the refusal of the Russians, who may want to use their own vehicles as launchers.

The second option is the most probable, as Iran is helping Russia by supplying weapons but certainly not doing so altruistically. It is enough to mention that for Shahed drones, Russia had to pay not in rubles but in gold. The amount of gold in the treasury is limited, unlike currency, which can always be printed more. It is possible that the Russians, wanting to save, paid only for the missiles themselves.

Tactical ballistic missiles are dangerous weapons because defending against them is extremely difficult. In practice, a medium-range anti-aircraft system like the Patriot, SAMP/T, or S-300 is needed, providing protection up to 25 miles from the launcher.

Ukraine has too few such systems, but Russia's production capabilities for Iskander-M ballistic missiles are also insufficient relative to demand. That is why Moscow is reaching for solutions like the KN-23 from North Korea and various ballistic missiles from Iran.

In the case of Fath-360 missiles, these are shortened to just over 16 feet, compared to the nearly 30-foot Fateh-110 missiles. These, in turn, are essentially enhanced and equipped with a guidance system using satellite and inertial navigation, versions of the Soviet-era Luna-M ballistic missile.

For this reason, the Fath-360's range is estimated to be around 75 miles, which is half of what its "bigger brother" can achieve. Its reduction was intended to fit multiple missiles on a launcher mounted on a regular truck. Available photos show that as many as six missiles are on a 6x6 truck chassis.

This provides significant firepower, and GPS/INS guidance makes the 330-pound warhead effective. Iranian Fath-360 missiles are said to hit targets at a speed of about Mach 4 (3,045 mph). With insufficient anti-missile defense, they can pose a huge threat to Ukrainians.