Produced by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) aerospace unit, the missile named Fattah, which means conqueror in Farsi, is capable of performing maneuvers inside and outside the earth’s atmosphere, at a speed of Mach 13-15.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, who attended the unveiling ceremony, claimed that the weapon would contribute to the peace and security of the region.
“Tehran was bombarded with missiles, and we had no defense power at that point,” said Raisi, “Today, this deterrent power has been created in Iran, which is a point of stable security and peace for the countries of the region.”
The development of Fattah was first announced in November by General Amirali Hajizadeh, commander of the IRGC Aerospace Force.
A hypersonic missile refers to a missile capable of traveling more than five times faster than the speed of sound.
The Iranian defense ministry in late May unveiled a new ballistic missile with capabilities to strike targets 2,000 kilometers away and carry warheads weighing 1,500 kilograms. The US State Department said in response that Iran’s proliferation of ballistic missiles posed a “serious threat” to the international security.
Tehran has not shied away from using its arsenal of ballistic missiles and suicide drones against different actors in the region. The IRGC bombarded targeted bases of Kurdish dissident groups in the Kurdistan Region multiple times last year, killing and injuring dozens of people.
