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On September 27, the Iranian Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) unveiled a new naval ballistic missile, dubbed “Zolfaqar Basir.”
The new missile was put on display at a permanent exhibition of the achievements of the IRGC Aerospace Force. The exhibition was inaugurated in the morning to celebrate the “Sacred Defence Week,” an annual commemoration of the Iran-Iraq war.
Zolfaqar Basir is the most advanced of Iran’s naval ballistic missiles, which were designed to engage large warships such as aircraft carriers. The two older missiles Persian Gulf and Hormuz, have a range of 300 and 250 km. The new missile’s range is up to 700 km.
The missile, which is derivative from the ground-to-ground Zolfaqar, is equipped with an optical seeker, likely used for target identification and tracking.
?? جدیدترین عضو خانواده موشک های ذوالفقار با نام ذوالفقار بصیر با سر جستجوگر اپتیکی pic.twitter.com/JPhRgUUdNB
— Mohammad.Shaltouki (@mohshaltouki) September 27, 2020
Fast forward to 2020 and “Zolfaqar-e-Basir” has been unveiled (albeit, in mockup form) after being hinted at in NOV 2018. It is a Zolfaqar missile with a Khalije Fars style EO seeker. A leap in Iran’s ASBM range from 300km to 700km. https://t.co/E7iIYyrkR2 pic.twitter.com/RKI5yzknPF
— Aᴍɪʀ (@AmirIGM) September 27, 2020
Zolfaqar Basir will further boost the offensive capabilities of the IRGC. The missile’s large range allows it to engage any naval target in the Persian Gulf, Gulf of Omar or in the Arabian sea.
Despite the increasing pressure from the U.S, Iran managed to make several breakthroughs in weapons development in the last two years. The Islamic country upgraded its missile arsenal, developed air-defense systems and built advanced drones.
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