Шахаб-3: Иранская баллистическая ракета средней дальности

Medium range ballistic missile

The Shahab 3 (شهاب ۳; meaning "Meteor 3") is a family of liquid fueled ballistic missiles developed by Iran and based on the North Korean Nodong 1. The Shahab 3 family has a range of 800 It was tested from 1998 to 2003 and added to the military arsenal on 7 July 2003, with an official unveiling by Ayatollah Khamenei on July 20. It has an estimated accuracy of about 2,500m CEP. Some successors to the Shahab have longer range and are also more maneuverable. Operating under the Sanam Industrial Group (Department 140), which is part of the Defense Industries Organization of Iran, the Shahid Hemmat Industrial Group (SHIG), led the development of the Shahab missile. In 2019, the US Defense Intelligence Agency described the Shahab 3 as "the mainstay of Iran’s MRBM force". US Air Force National Air and Space Intelligence Center estimates that as of June 2017 fewer than 50 launchers were operationally deployed. Shahab 3 missiles are considered obsolete and are being progressively changed for their more recent upgrades of Shahab family missiles such as the Ghadr 110H and Emad missile. The US government says that the Shahab 3 is "generally" less accurate than the Fateh 110.

The Shahab 3B differs from the basic production variant. It has improvements to its guidance system and warhead with a greater range, a few small changes on the missile body, and a new re entry vehicle whose terminal guidance system and rocket nozzle steering method are completely different from the Shahab 3A's spin stabilized re entry vehicle. The new re entry vehicle uses a triconic aeroshell geometry (or "baby bottle" design) which improves the overall lift to drag ratio for the re entry vehicle. This allows greater range maneuverability which can result in better precision. The triconic design also reduces the overall size of the warhead from an estimated to .

Iran has conducted at least six test flights of the Shahab 3. During the first one, in July 1998, the missile reportedly exploded in mid air during the latter portion of its flight; U. S. officials wondered whether the test was a failure or the explosion was intentional. A second, successful test took place in July 2000. On 9 November 2004, Shamkhani said Iran could mass produce the missile. On 2 November 2006, Iran fired unarmed missiles to begin 10 days of military war games. Iranian state television reported "dozens of missiles were fired including Shahab 2 and Shahab 3 missiles. The missiles had ranges from to up to Iranian experts have made some changes to Shahab 3 missiles installing cluster warheads in them with the capacity to carry 1,400 bombs". These launches come after some United States led military exercises in the Persian Gulf on 30 October 2006, meant to train for blocking the transport of weapons of mass destruction.

On 8 July 2008, Iran test fired a non upgraded version of the Shahab 3 as one of 9 medium and long range missiles launched as part of the Great Prophet III exercise, within a few weeks of a recently concluded military exercise by Israel. Other missiles fired include the surface to surface Fateh 110 and Zelzal missiles. Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps air and naval units conducted these tests in a desert location. Air Force commander Hossein Salami advised that Iran was ready to retaliate to military threats, saying "We warn the enemies who intend to threaten us with military exercises and empty psychological operations that our hand will always be on the trigger and our missiles will always be ready to launch". One day later, on 9 July 2008, Iran allegedly tested a version of the Shahab 3 in the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has threatened to shut down traffic into if it is attacked. Arms control analyst Jeffrey Lewis analyzed Iranian launch footage and concluded that Iranian claims of testing an upgraded Shahab missile were unfounded. A senior Republican Guard commander said Iran would maintain security in the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf. According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz and the French news agency Agence France Presse, which published pictures from the missile test, "Iran had apparently doctored photographs of missile test firings and exaggerated the capabilities of the weapons" and an additional missile was added afterwards to cover up a failed launch.