Iran unveils upgraded hypersonic missile as Khamenei touts Israel ‘failure’

Tehran, Iran – Iran has unveiled an upgraded version of its hypersonic missile in a military exhibition for the country’s supreme leader.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Sunday visited a university run by the aerospace division of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Tehran, where a more advanced version of the Fattah hypersonic missile was put on display along with an array of arms, including the Iranian-made Gaza drone.

A new version of the Shahed series of unmanned aerial vehicles and an upgraded version of the 9-Dey missile defence system, capable of launching short to medium-range projectiles, were also unveiled.

The IRGC in addition displayed a new missile defence system called Mehran, which is said to employ solid-fuel missiles.

Iran had first unveiled the missile in June, joining a small club of countries, including China and Russia, which have weapons capable of travelling long distances with strong maneuverability.

The Iranian state media said the Fattah II missile is a hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV), a projectile that glides to its target after the initial launch, offering substantially more maneuverability compared to a ballistic warhead travelling in a more predictable arc pattern.

No more information was provided on the upgraded version on Sunday, but Iran had said Fattah is capable of moving at a speed of up to Mach 15 (5.1 km or 3.2 miles per second) with a range of 1,400km (870 miles).