According to Fars News Agency:
The Iranian Defense Ministry started mass-production of Nasr 1 (Victory 1) cruise missiles on Sunday.
"Nasr 1 missile is a cruise missile capable of destroying 3-ton weighted vessels," Iranian Interior Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi said at a ceremony to inaugurate Nasr 1 production line at the defense ministry's Aerospace Industries Organization.
Vahidi also said that Nasr 1 is a short-range coast-to-sea and sea-to-sea missile which could be fired from coasts and all types of vessels.
He announced that his ministry plans to enhance tactical capabilities of the missile, saying the missile will soon be equipped with the capability to be fired from choppers and submarines.
The minister stressed that once the Army's Navy and the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) naval forces come in possession of these mass-produced cruise missiles, the Islamic Republic of Iran's naval defense capability would experience an outstanding jump forward.
In December 2008, The Iranian naval forces successfully test-fired the surface-to-surface Nasr 1 in the final stage of Unity 87 wargames in the Persian Gulf waters.
The surface-to-surface Nasr-1 missile was fired from a warship and hit its target at a distance of 30 km (19 miles) and destroyed it. It was the first test of the new missile.
click photos to enlarge
Photos: Borna News Agency
I don't want to knock this, but given the lack of any evidence of a turbojet nozzle or an intake (typically a 'NACA duct'), this does not look like a "cruise" missile, in the sense that it is propelled by rocket motors only and not by an air-breathing motor.
ReplyDeleteIf anyone sees an intake duct, could they please point it out?
This will also have a bearing on the claimed range of 30km.
"Nasr-1" appears to be a close copy of the Chinese C704 anti-ship missile, as illustrated in this photo:
ReplyDeletehttp://chinarules.co.uk/showthread.php?tid=216
It is propelled by rocket motors and is definitely NOT a cruise missle, as it has no air-breathing engine such as a turbojet or ramjet.
If Nasr-1's rocket motors are as good as the Chinese original, then the claimed range of 30km is not unrealistic.
Question is: Is this a licensed or authorized copy, or a bootleg? If the latter, then the Chinese will not be too pleased.
The Iranians appear to use their own classification types for weapons. Hence the IRIS Jamaran is a "destroyer" and the Nasr-1 is a "cruise missile." According to the Iranian definition for the type, the Nasr is classified as a cruise missile for its flight characteristics: after launch, flying flat and at low altitude to hit the designated target.
ReplyDeleteThere's a level of dissimilitude on the heritage of the Nasr and the larger Kowsar. Outward appearances for the Nasr suggest linkage to the C-704 or TL-6, while the larger Kowsar the C-701 or TL-10.
The Nasr type has been developed and tested publicly for some time now, while there have been no Chinese protests made public to date.
Mark Pyruz:
ReplyDeletekowsar(~15 km) is actually smaller than nasr (~30km).
Thank second comment
ReplyDeleteNasr 1 is short-range cruise missiles.
Nice to know nast2 also was tested last year!
Iran could C802 range missiles to 250 kilometers increase.
Possibly with light 2 NOR2
Iran is not only copy the poster design is now.
China opens missile plant in Iran
ReplyDeletePublished: April 23, 2010 at 11:37 AM
TEHRAN, April 23 (UPI) -- China inaugurated a missile plan in Iran last month, even as the United States and its allies were pressing Beijing to support a new round of tough economic sanctions on the Islamic Republic over its nuclear program, Jane's Defense Weekly reports.
It's a military relationship that goes back two decades and, in light of Russia's reluctance to provide the Iranians with advanced air-defense missile system to counter possible U.S. or Israeli airstrikes, is set to expand.
Robert Hewson, editor of Jane's Air-Launched Weapons, reported that the factory for assembling and producing Iran's Nasr-1 -- Victory 1 -- anti-ship missile was opened March 7.
The Nasr is identical to China's C-704 anti-ship missile, Hewson says. Iran's burgeoning defense industry, much of it controlled by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, has been producing Chinese-designed anti-ship missiles such as the C-801 since the early 1990s.
The C-704, developed by China Aerospace Group, targets ships of 1,000-4,000 tons displacement and is the equivalent of the U.S. AGM-119 anti-ship missile. With a range of 106 miles and a 240-pound warhead, the C-704 has a kill probability of 95.7 percent.
The Iranians, possibly with Chinese assistance, have even developed improved versions such as the Noor, an upgraded version of China's C-802, with a longer range than the original and over-the-horizon capabilities.
Indeed, Hewson observed that "Iran has gone further than China in fielding the C-802, taking what was previously a land- and ship-launched weapon and producing an air-launched version that can be carried by Mi-17 helicopters and fast-jet types."
Over the years Iran has developed a range of anti-ship missile systems from the Chinese weapons that gives the Islamic Republic's regular navy and the IRGC's naval arm the capability to exert a considerable degree of control over waters in the Gulf and the Arabian Sea.
This is the area from which U.S. naval forces would strike if hostilities erupt.
On Saturday, the IRGC concluded its annual three-day Great Prophet exercises in the Strait of Hormuz, the choke point gateway to the Gulf and a key energy artery, in a show of defiance against the United States.
The Nasr is a medium-range weapon that can be launched from warships or shore batteries and its development and planned mass production has been trumpeted by Tehran at a time when Iran's military forces are making preparations to counter possible attacks.
"In a methodical and deceptively modest manner China has helped Iran take charge of all its surrounding waters and this work between the two nations continues," Hewson reported.
"Follow-on versions of the Nasr are being developed to include an air-launched variant.
"There are other cooperative tactical missile programs under way and China's design bureaus have displayed several 'export only' weapons (such as the C-705 lightweight cruise missile) that would seem set to follow the established route into Iran," Hewson added.
"With such a solid relationship established between the two countries it is not difficult to see why China has been reluctant to commit to the Western push for sanctions against Iran."
China, ever hungry for energy sources to fuel its expanding economy, imports around 12 percent of its oil from Iran and seeks to secure Iranian natural gas through overland pipelines -- another reason it has shown little enthusiasm for new U.N. sanctions on Iran.