The missile is named Qader (Capable). It wasn’t clear why the new missile was unveiled with such fanfare as Iran has long produced cruise missiles and even claims to have a factory mass-producing one of them for the past year.
State television said the Qader had a longer range and was designed to strike warships. The broadcast said the Qader has a lighter weight and smaller dimensions than other Iranian cruise missiles.
The broadcast did not, however, give any details about the missile’s specifications, other than to say it had a range of 200 kilometers (125 miles).
It was silent about such things as the Qader’s guidance system and the size of its warhead. If it has smaller dimensions than previous Iranian cruise missiles, it presumably has a smaller warhead and, therefore, cannot do as much damage as other missiles.
In unveiling the Qader, Ahmadi-nejad said, “The best deterrence is that the enemy does not dare to invade. The enemy should be crippled on its own ground and not over the skies of Tehran.”
The Islamic Republic frequently makes announcements about stupendous military advancements that cannot be verified. It has been caught announcing repeatedly that it has just put this or that weapon into mass production.
A cruise missile is essentially just an unpiloted jet. They have existed since the Germans fired the V-1 buzz bombs at London in World War II. The key to the utility of a cruise missile is its guidance system (can it find a precise target), its range (can it reach a distant target), its warhead size (can it do much damage) and its defenses (can it evade destruction by its opponent).
The Islamic Republic left most of those questions unanswered. It did say the Qader could fly 200 kilometers. But the US Navy won’t be operating ships that close to Iran in time of war. US ships fire Tomahawk cruise missiles against land targets. And the Tomahawk has a range of 2,500 kilometers so the Qader with a range just 8 percent of that does not threaten Tomahawk launches.
Also put on display Tuesday was a new torpedo named Valfajr (Dawn).