Iran’s New Achievement: ‘Ra’ad’ Missile with Composite Engine Block

By Staff- Agencies

Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps [IRGC] unveiled on Sunday a new missile with a composite engine as well as the new generation of engines for propelling missiles and satellite carriers.

In a ceremony in Tehran, IRGC Commander Major General Hossein Salami and Commander of the IRGC Aerospace Force Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh inaugurated an assembly line producing “Ra’ad-500” [thunder-500] missiles equipped with an advanced composite engine dubbed “Zohair”.

The new Iranian missile enjoys an engine made up of carbon fiber composites, which enable the engine’s shield to withstand pressures up to 100 bars and temperatures as high as 3,000 degrees Celsius and also reduce the total weight of the missile dramatically.

Due to the composite materials, the weight of Ra’ad-500 has been reduced by half in comparison with the Fateh-110 missile that has a metal body, but its range has been extended by 200 kilometers.

The employment of two technologies, namely the composite engine shield and the moving nozzle, have allowed for the use of solid propellant engines outside the atmosphere.

The new achievement enables Iran to manufacture light satellite carriers with solid propellant, produce surface-to-surface missiles with a small radar cross-sectional area, enhance the maneuverability of missiles to defeat missile defense systems, and reduce the costs and complexity of production of missiles.

Addressing the ceremony, the commander of the IRGC’s Aerospace Division said by developing the adjustable nozzle technology, it is possible to control solid-fuel missiles beyond the atmosphere in spacecraft, satellite carriers and anti-armor missiles.

He added that expenses of Iran's Armed Forces are far lower than those of other countries, saying that the composite body of the new missile has been designed in a way that it can be used in surface-to-surface and air defense missiles.