The Pasdaran said the missile could attack from high-altitude, as seen in these pictures. But what the US Navy fears most is so-called “sea skimmer” missiles that fly just above the water’s surface and are far 
more difficult to detect, track and destroy than a missile coming in from a high altitude. The Pasdaran said the Khalij-e Fars missile could fly at three times the speed of sound. By comparison, the French Exocet anti-ship missile, the only missile to have struck an American warship in combat, flies at slightly less than the speed of sound. But it is a sea-skimmer. The Pasdaran said its new missile has a warhead of 650 kilograms (1,420 pounds), which is four times the size of the Exocet warhead. In 1987, an Iraqi pilot fired
two Exocets into the USS Stark, a frigate and one of the smallest US warships. The missiles killed 37 sailors. The ship was put out of action, but did not sink and sailed back to the United States for 
repairs.
