Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force

Aerospace service branch of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps

The IRGC Aerospace Force is responsible for the operation of Iran's surface to surface (SSM) missile systems. In August 2013, Ahmad Vahidi. former defense minister of Iran said that his country is ranked sixth in the world in missile production. It is claimed to operate several thousand short and medium range mobile ballistic missiles, including the Shahab 3/3B with a range of up to 2,100 kilometers, which is the mainstay of Iran's strategic deterrent. This puts even NATO members Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria and Romania within striking range, if fired from Western Iran. If Iran ever produces nuclear weapons, they fall under the direct supervision of the Aerospace Force. Iran says that it has no intention of producing nuclear weapons. Despite earlier roots, the Iranian military industry started the missile development program in earnest during Iran's long and costly war with Iraq. At times, throughout the war Iran found that it could not strike certain Iraqi facilities or targets with its own forces. This resulted in an ambitious missile development programme that is still continuing. Today, Iran is developing space launch vehicles and sophisticated medium range ballistic missiles. Iran's ballistic missiles possess the capability to deliver a variety of conventional high explosive and submunition, as well as MIRVs. Iran's achievements in missile development have been called "impressive" by IISS. In May 2013 Iran's Ministry of Defense and Logistics delivered a massive number of missile TELs to IRGC AF, “Iranian television footage showed at least 26 TELs lined up in two rows for the event, which marked their purported delivery to the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force, which operates the country's ballistic missiles”, according to the report by IHS Jane's. Any Iranian long range intermediate range ballistic missile or intercontinental ballistic missile would require an extraordinarily effective guidance system and level of reliability to have any real lethality with conventional warheads, even if it could be equipped with a functional GPS guidance platform. It would probably require nuclear warheads in order to compensate for critical problems in accuracy, reliability, and warhead lethality.

After the war, Iran's experience of liquid fuel missiles had purely focused on the reverse engineering of Scud B missiles. However, with the post war reorganisation the focus of the effort quickly changed and focused on assembly and maintenance. A domestic version of the Scud B, known as Shahab 1, was developed and manufactured. This led to its successor the Shahab 2, a variant of the Scud C with a range of 500 to 700 km, and finally the Shahab 3. Since the end of the war, Iran has consistently attempted to recruit foreign help, as well as its large and highly qualified expatriate population, into its missile program. Iranian expatriates who left with the revolution have been slow to return, but many are now doing so and thus heralding a new age for Iran's missile development programme with their tremendous wealth of technical experience.

Iran has an arsenal of short range, liquid fueled missiles including the Scud B and Scud C, and is now able to produce SCUD type missiles on its own, such as the R 17E, a variant of the Russian R 17 Elbrus (Scud B). The Aerospace Industries Organization, a subsidiary of Iran's Ministry of Defense, supports the manufacturing process by engaging in SCUD missile restoration. Its short range missile inventory also includes solid fueled missiles, such as the Tondar 69 and the Fateh 110. Also, Iranian artillery rockets include the Samid, the Shahin 2, the Naze'at, and the Zelzal family (Zelzal 1, Zelzal 2, and Zelzal 3).

as of 2009, Iran has an active interest in developing, acquiring, and deploying a broad range of ballistic missiles, as well as developing a space launch capability. In mid July 2008, Iran launched a number of ballistic missiles during military exercises, reportedly including the medium range Shahab 3. Iran announced other missile and space launch tests in August and November 2008. In February 2009, Iran announced it launched a satellite into orbit and "officially achieved a presence in space."

The Fajr 3 is currently Iran's most advanced ballistic missile. It is a domestically developed liquid fuel missile with an unknown range. What makes it Iran's most advanced rocket is that the Iranian government says it has multiple independently targeted reentry vehicles (MIRV) capabilities. Its MIRV capability may give it the ability of avoiding anti missile surface to air missiles (SAMs). The missile was last launched during Holy Prophet wargames, which was the IRGC's largest naval war games ever. The Fajr 3 and the Fajr 3 artillery rocket are different systems.

Shahab 3 is a medium range ballistic missile (MRBM) that was built by Iran's military. Its first model, also known as Shahab 3A has a range of Soon after Iran came with a new model called Shahab 3B, which has a range of , and can carry a heavier warhead. Making this missile was a major step in Iran's missile industry, and it opened the way to longer range missiles. Shahab 3D, which followed the Shahab 3C, is Iran's latest Shahab model. A range including Russia (as far as Moscow), Ukraine, parts of Hungary, Serbia, Greece, Egypt, Arabia, parts of India and China, as well as countries closer to Iran. Jane's Information Group said in 2006 that Iran had six operational Shahab 3 brigades, the first of which was established in July 2003. They said that the six brigades were mainly equipped with standard variants, but with others described as enhanced Shahab 3 variants, with ranges of , respectively. Anthony Cordesman at the Center for Strategic and International Studies however said only in August 2007 that 'the air force of the IRGC is believed to operate Iran's three Shahab 3 intermediate range ballistic missiles units' while noting that their actual operational status remains uncertain. to and as such is the Iranian missile with the longest range. It is believed to be an improved version of the Shahab 3, also known as the Ghadr 101. It has a liquid fuel first stage and a solid fuel second stage, which allows it to have a range of 2,000 km. According to Jane's Defence Weekly, the Ashoura represents a major breakthrough in Iranian missile technology. It is the first two stage MRBM using solid fueled rocket motors instead of the existing liquid fueled technology used on the Shahab. This would dramatically reduce the setup and deployment time for the missile and hence, shorten the amount of warning time for the enemy. Jane's noted that while the development parallels Pakistan's Shaheen II MRBM there is no evidence to suggest there had been any prior technology exchange or with its other known technology partners such as North Korea or China.

The new two stage solid fuel missile has a range of nearly , it was tested on 12 November 2008. An improved version, the Sejjil 2, was tested on 20 May 2009. Improvements include better navigation system, better targeting system, more payload, longer range, faster lift off, longer storage time, quicker launch, and lower detection possibilities.

US Director of National Intelligence James Clapper told the Senate Armed Services Committee on 11 February 2014 that Iran was expected to test "a missile system that could potentially have ICBM class range", a possible reference to the Simorgh satellite launch vehicle (SLV) on which Iran is working. As a consequence of Iran's nuclear deal (JCPOA), on 20 July 2015 the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231 was endorsed, replacing the Resolution 1929, which "called upon" Iran "not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons". It has been argued that the language is not a legal prohibition. The U. S. ambassador to the UN Samantha Power said that the Emad missile was inherently capable of delivering a nuclear warhead which is therefore a violation. However, Vitaly Churkin, Russia's ambassador disputed this interpretation: "a call is different from a ban, so legally you cannot violate a call, you can comply with a call or you can ignore the call, but you cannot violate a call". Iran's foreign minister, Javad Zarif, responded by saying that since Iran does not possess nuclear weapons nor does it ever intends in having one, it does not design its missiles (Emad) to be capable of carrying something it does not have. Nevertheless, the testing of the Emad missile took place before the adoption of the Resolution 2231. The US, France, Britain, Germany, Sweden, Turkey, and Australia asked the UN Security Council to investigate and take appropriate action.

The Hoveyzeh Cruise Missile is an all weather, surface to surface cruise missile. The Hoveyzeh is from the Soumar family of cruise missiles. The missile was unveiled and put on display on February 2, 2019, at an exhibition of defense achievements in Tehran during commemorations of the 40th anniversary of the 1979 Iranian Revolution. The surface to surface cruise missile is capable of low altitude flight and has a range of ,

Discussing the capabilities of the missile, the Israeli military intelligence website DEBKAfile states that there is "no military force in the world has so far found an effective means of intercepting cruise missiles before they strike, unless they are short range." The missile is essentially immune to any sort of radar and missile defense systems. He also said not only it can breach the most advanced and significant missile defense systems (in the world), but it can also target them. The next day he stated that the tests have been made and that the missile will be unveiled in an appropriate time. The missile was unveiled on 6 June 2023 with the name "Fattah".

Its personnel size is unknown according to the Congressional Research Service, while International Institute of Strategic Studies estimated that the military branch had 15,000 sworn members as of 2020.