Iran claims that it had developed a hypersonic weapon capable of countering high-end air defenses. The announcement was made by Brigadier General (Gen.) Hajizadeh, the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps- Aerospace Forces (IRGC-AF) on November 12, 2022.
Gen. Hajizadeh’s claim raises several questions, such as: what kind of a hypersonic system could this mystery weapon be, more precisely? Is the claim credible? Was there a precursor weapon program that could have served as a technological bed? Could Iran have obtained hypersonic technology from another country? Why does Iran even want a hypersonic weapon in the first place? What operational challenge is this weapon addressing? What effect will Gen. Hajizadeh’s announcement have on the GCC?
Tactical Report has prepared a 994-word report (3-pages) that provides likely explanations and analyses to the aforementioned questions using open-source information.
Note that Tactical Report has exclusively and extensively reported on the GCC’s thrust for hypersonic weapons to cope with a looming hypersonic threat in the region for the past year. For further reading, consult our Hypersonic Systems hot topic for an extensive collection of in-depth and daily intelligence reports (DIRs) on GCC and hypersonic weapons and air defenses.