SHAHAB-3 | Medium-Range Ballistic Missile
SHAHAB-3 | Medium-Range Ballistic Missile
شهاب ۳ | “Meteor-3”
If the Shahab-1 represented Iran copying Soviet technology, the Shahab-3 began as Iran adapting a North Korean design. Based on the Nodong-1, Iran acquired the technology in the mid-1990s and spent the following decade modifying it extensively into a distinct domestic system.
It became the backbone of Iran’s ballistic missile force and the foundation for later Iranian MRBM developments.
Key specs:
️Range: 1,000 km (covers all of Israel, all U.S. Gulf bases, and much of Saudi Arabia)
️Warhead: 1,200 kg, among the heaviest payloads in the MRBM class
️Warhead options: HE unitary or cluster variant carrying 5 × 280 kg submunitions
️Fuel: Liquid
️CEP: Estimated 190–500 m, depending on variant
The cluster warhead variant is particularly notable. Five dispersed 280 kg submunitions significantly increase area coverage, making the missile effective against airfields, troop concentrations, and logistics infrastructure, where multiple impact points are more useful than a single detonation.
Vulnerability:
The missile’s main weakness remains liquid fuel. Pre-launch fueling can take up to an hour, leaving the launcher exposed. The missile’s large size also makes road-mobile TELs detectable by ISR assets during preparation. Iran has tried to mitigate this through dispersal tactics, underground storage, and rapid deployment procedures.
Combat use:
The Shahab-3 has never been used in combat by Iran, but its deployment in 2003 significantly altered the strategic balance in the Middle East. Much of Israel’s missile defense architecture — including Iron Dome, David’s Sling, and the Arrow systems — was developed in response to the threat posed by missiles in this class.
Iran continues to test-fire Shahab-3 variants, often during periods of heightened tension with the United States or Israel as strategic signaling.
The Ghadr-1 and Emad missiles are direct evolutionary descendants of the Shahab-3 platform.
Source: Telegram "DDGeopolitics"