Iranian hypersonic missiles may mark new era in Israeli conflict

On Tuesday, October 1, Iran carried out a massive attack on Israel. Initial reports emerging shortly after the attack indicated that up to 400 rockets were launched towards Israel. Among them were likely Fattah hypersonic missiles. Here’s what is known about them.

This is one of the newer weapons in Iran's arsenal. Publicly available information indicates that two variants have been developed so far: Fattah 1, which was unveiled in June of last year, and Fattah 2 with certain unspecified public improvements.

Numerous recordings from the Middle East, including Israel, are appearing on social media. Experts and analysts, however, recommend extreme caution in assessing the means used by Iran and the effectiveness of Israel's air defence. In the first minutes, even hours, after such a massive attack, this is very difficult.

However, more and more recordings and photos are focusing specifically on the mentioned Fattah hypersonic missiles. If their launch towards Israel is officially confirmed by the Israel Defence Forces, this would be the first combat use of this weapon in history.

When presenting the first variant of Fattah last year, Iranian constructors claimed these are "missiles with a range of about 1,400 kilometres that are capable of penetrating all defensive shields."

This is the first missile of its kind from Iran, which stands out, among other things, for its speed upon launch – it can reach up to Mach 13-15, which is more than, for instance, the speed of Russian Kinzhal missiles, whose maximum speed is estimated at no more than Mach 10. For this reason, combating hypersonic missiles is very difficult for the defending side.

It is worth noting that Iran's missile arsenal is significant. It also includes ballistic missiles from the Fateh-110 and Zolfaghar families, with ranges of approximately 300 kilometres and 700 kilometres, respectively, as well as the more advanced Ghadr-110 and Emad ballistic missiles. These missiles are also characterized by the possibility of launching from mobile launchers, which facilitate their concealment and make them difficult to destroy due to their mobility. Ghadr-110 provides a range of about 2,000 kilometres, while Emad offers about 1,750 kilometres. They are an advancement of the still-used Shahab-3 ballistic missiles, which have an estimated range of 1,300 kilometres.