Russian soldiers are already training: ISW assesses the threat of Iranian ballistic missiles

In the coming days, Iran may start transferring short-range ballistic missiles to Russia. According to intelligence reports, Moscow and Tehran signed a corresponding agreement in December 2023.

The Russian military is already undergoing training in the use of these Iranian weapons. This was reported by the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

"Iran is expected to supply ballistic missiles to Russia 'soon' to support Russia's invasion of Ukraine," the article says.

The analysts, in particular, cited a Bloomberg report published on September 2. The publication, citing an unnamed European official, wrote that Tehran could begin delivering its ballistic missiles to Russia "within days." However, neither the types of missiles nor their number were named by Bloomberg's interlocutors.

And Reuters' European intelligence sources said back in August that Iran and Russia signed a contract last December for the supply of Ababil short-range ballistic missiles and Fateh-360 short-range ballistic missiles. We can talk about hundreds of missiles capable of hitting targets at a distance of up to 120 km.

European intelligence has also received information that dozens of Russian military personnel were trained in August to work with the Fateh-360.

"Russia’s acquisition of Ababil or Fateh-360 ballistic missiles would likely allow Russian forces to strike Ukrainian near-rear targets while preserving Russia's stockpiles of domestically-produced missiles, such as Iskanders, for deep-rear Ukrainian targets, as CTP-ISW previously assessed," analysts say.

In general, cooperation between Tehran and Moscow in the military sphere is gaining momentum. Iran has already provided Russia with a significant number of attack drones, which the occupiers use to attack Ukrainian cities. The potential transfer of ballistic missiles by Tehran, according to European officials interviewed by Bloomberg, will lead to an "alarming development in the conflict."

According to the Defense Express military portal, the Reuters article is the first to state that the subject of the deal was the Fath-360 and Ababil missiles. Earlier, Fateh-110 and Zolfaghar were most often mentioned in the materials about Iran's possible transfer of missiles to Russia, which have been appearing in the information space from time to time since the fall of 2022. Although speculation about Ababil was also occasionally heard.

Not much is known about both Ababil and Fath-360. However, Defense Express managed to gather some information.

Ababil

The Iranian Ababil missile is quite small in size. It is 3.7 meters long and weighs 240 kg. The range of the Ababil is up to 85 kg.

Ababil is available in two versions with satellite and inertial navigation and with an additional optoelectronic guidance system at the end stage. It is also known that the missile is launched from transport and launch containers, which are grouped by 8 on one platform.

The Iranians brought this missile to Moscow for the Army-2023 exhibition. And last November, the coordinator of the US National Security Council, John Kirby, named it among the Iranian missiles that Russia might be interested in.

Fath-360

The Fath-360, however, has never been mentioned in the public space as one of those missiles in which Russia is interested.

This missile is also called BM-120, and its existence became known only at the end of 2021.

It is 5.1 meters long, according to the scarce references in the information space. The diameter of the missile is 368 mm. The total weight of the Fath-360 is 787 kg, of which 150 kg is the warhead. The speed is declared to be up to Mach 4, and the range is up to 120 km.

The guidance system consists of an inertial system and satellite navigation.

Defense Express experts suggest that the Fath-360 is a significantly reduced copy of the Fateh-110. The Fath-360 launcher is traditionally disguised as a regular civilian truck.

"At the same time, the main difference between Fath-360, Ababil and Fateh-110, Zolfagar is that the former are intended for direct use against targets at the front and in the near rear, while the latter are intended for attacks on targets in the deep rear," Defense Express writes.

Earlier, it was reported that after a long pause, Russia is increasing the use of missiles from the DPRK. The aggressor state's change of plans was recorded in early August, followed by about five months of calm.

The aggressor often launches North Korean weapons simultaneously with Iranian kamikaze drones, analysts noted at the time.

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