Kheibar Shekan

Kheibar Shekan or Kheibarshekan (Persian: خیبرشکن) is an Iranian solid-fuel medium-range ballistic missile operated by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force. It is of the third generation of IRGC missiles and was unveiled in 2022 at a ceremony attended by Iranian military commanders on the 43rd anniversary of the Iranian Revolution.^[3] The missile is propelled by solid fuel and its warhead is maneuverable in terminal phase with the objective of evading air defenses. It has the ability to hit targets within a range of 1,450 kilometers (900 miles).^[4]

Kheibar Shekan
Type	Medium-range ballistic missile
Place of origin	Iran
Service history
Used by	Islamic Republic of Iran
Wars	War on ISIL[1][2] 2024 Iran–Israel conflict
Production history
Designer	Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
Manufacturer	Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
Produced	2022
Specifications
Mass	6.3 tons
Length	11.4 meters
Diameter	76 centimeters
Warhead weight	550 kg
Propellant	Solid fuel engine

Name

"Kheibar" alludes to a fort near Medina, Khaybar, which was populated by Jews and was in 628 A.D. attacked and conquered by Muslims led by Muhammad. "Shekan" means "destroyer" or "breaker".^[5][6][7]

Specifications

Kheibar Shekan exhibited at Tehran during 2022 Quds Day.

The Kheibar Shekan missile uses solid fuel and weighs less than similar missiles.^{[citation needed][dubious – discuss]} The Kheibar Shekan is one of the third generation of long-range missiles of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which uses solid fuel and can conduct terminal phase maneuvers.^{[citation needed]}

Dimensions

The Kheibar Shekan missile is 11.4 meters long, 76 centimeters in diameter, and weighs 6.3 tons with a 550-kilogram warhead.^{[citation needed]} Its warhead is a fast and intense explosive type and its body is made of composite materials same as Raad-500 missile.^[8]

One of the advantages of the Kheibar Shekan missile is its smaller dimensions compared to similar models; therefore, more of them can be stored in the limited space of underground missile bases.^[9]

Warhead

The relatively large dimensions of the Kheibar Shekan's re-entry vehicle increase the maneuverability after re-entering the atmosphere and allow for more sophisticated and faster maneuvers to attempt to defeat missile defenses.^{[10][dubious – discuss]} The velocity of the warhead at the moment of impact is reportedly estimated at Mach 2-3.^[8]

The reentry vehicle's configuration is of the tri-conic type, which maintains the warhead's stability during re-entry. According to Iranian state media sources, by making engineering compromises and increasing the drag force, the missile has achieved more maneuverability.^[8][11]

Launch vehicle

The Kheibar Shekan missile can use a wide range of launchers.^{[citation needed]} The launcher used for the missile is mounted on a 10-wheel commercial chassis that can also be camouflaged as a commercial vehicle.^[8][5][6]

Military use

On 1 October 2024, Iran launched 181 ballistic missiles at Israel in response to Israel's assassination of Hassan Nasrallah and IRGC Commander Abbas Nilforoushan on 27 September. Kheibar Shekan missiles were among those reportedly used in the attack.^[12] In response, on 26 October 2024, Israel struck military targets inside of Iran, including multiple facilities used to manufacture and store the solid propellant fuel for Keibar Shekan missiles.^[13]