Iran's Fath-360 missiles sent to Russia without launchers
Russia has 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 circumvent this inconvenience.
According to Reuters, citing its sources in the USA, the Russians have received short-range ballistic missiles, Fath-360, in recent weeks. However, these are still non-operational as Iran has not provided the launchers.
There could be many reasons for this action. One might be Iran's desire to have leverage in negotiations with Western countries regarding the easing of sanctions. Another reason could be the Russians' refusal, who may want to use their own vehicles as launchers.
The second option seems most likely, as Iran supplies weapons to Russia, but certainly not charitably. It is worth mentioning that for Shahed drones, Russia had to pay not with rubles but with gold. The quantity in the treasury is limited, unlike the currency, which can always be printed more. It is possible that the Russians, wanting to save money, paid only for the missiles themselves.
Fath-360 missiles
Tactical ballistic missiles are very dangerous weapons because defending against them is extremely difficult. In practice, a medium-range anti-aircraft system like Patriot, SAMP/T, or S-300 is required, providing protection up to a distance of 25 miles from the launcher.
Ukraine has too few of these systems, but Russian production capabilities for Iskander-M ballistic missiles are also insufficient compared to the demand. This is why Moscow turns to solutions like KN-23 from North Korea and various ballistic missiles from Iran.
Fath-360 missiles are a shortened variant of the nearly 30-foot Fateh-110 missiles, measuring just over 16 feet. These, in turn, are enhanced and equipped with a guidance system using both satellite and inertial navigation derived from the Soviet-era Luna-M ballistic missile.
Dangerous weapon in Russian hands
For this reason, the range of the Fath-360 is estimated to be about 75 miles, which is half of what its "bigger brother" can achieve. The reduction was intended to fit multiple missiles on a launcher mounted on a regular truck. Available photos indicate that there are up to six missiles on a 6x6 truck chassis.
This provides large firepower and guidance using GPS/INS, which makes the 330-pound warhead effective. The Iranian Fath-360 missiles are said to hit their targets at speeds of around Mach 4 (3000 mph). With insufficient missile defence, they can pose a very significant threat to Ukrainians.
