China, Iran Share Missile Know-How

Jane's Defence Weekly | December 4, 2002

[Stand Watch Listen]

By Robert Hewson, Editor, Jane's Air-Launched Weapons, Kish Island, Iran, and Zhuhai, China

Iran's Aerospace Industries Organisation (AIO) is working to develop and produce anti-ship missile systems in collaboration with the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp, sources at both companies have confirmed.

The effort, which Iranian sources call 'Project Noor', covers the short-range C-701 and the long-range C-802 weapons developed by the latter company's China National Precision Machinery Import and Export Co subsidiary.

The possibility that a collaborative project was under way was first raised in 1998, when Iran displayed an anti-ship missile design similar to the 15km-range C-701 shortly after the Chinese system was unveiled. An AIO spokesperson confirmed in early November that 'Project Noor' involves the C-701. However, officials in the same company describe the weapon as "a long-range, turbojet-powered, sea-skimming anti-ship missile", which better fits the 120km-range C-802, and suggests that the co-operation agreement covers both weapons.

Material released by the AIO also shows that Iran has acquired the latter missile from China.

While Iranian efforts so far appear confined to acquiring ship-launched variants of the Chinese weapons, the country's air force has for sometime sought an air-launched anti-ship capability to augment its domestically developed standoff glide bombs and missiles developed for use against large shipping targets, such as oil tankers.

The Iranian Navy is also fielding a version of China's FL-6 anti-ship missile, dubbed the Fajr-e-Darya ('Sea Dawn'). The availability of all three weapon types could significantly advance Tehran's ability to control and deny movement at sea throughout the Persian Gulf.

In a further development, the first details of two electro-optically guided munition types now in service with the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force also emerged during the Iran Airshow 2002, which took place from 30 October to 3 November. The missile manufacturing companies of the Iranian Ministry of Defence developed both weapons from inventory stocks of standard US-pattern general-purpose bomb shapes. They first entered service during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war. The designs have since been enhanced and refined and remain in service with the air force's F-4 Phantom and F-5 Tiger fighter fleets, according to the weapons developers.

Built around a 907kg (2,000 lb) Mk 84-class bomb body and given the local designation GBU-67/9A, Tehran's Qadr ('Force') weapon is designed for use against high-value targets, on land or at sea. Optimised for release from high altitude, the unpowered Qadr has four long strakes along its body to provide lift, plus four fixed squared-off stabilising tail fins and four narrow-chord, pneumatically actuated guidance fins. Its effective range is dictated by the speed and altitude of the launch aircraft, although a maximum range of 20km is cited. The weapon's daytime-only TV seeker is linked to an autopilot which uses proportional navigation techniques to achieve lock-on-before-launch 'fire-and-forget' homing. With a slewable look angle of +/-25º, the seeker's 'off-the-shelf' TV camera provides no magnification, making it most effective against large high-contrast targets.

The AGM-379/20 Zoobin ('Arrow') is a rocket-powered weapon based on an M117 bomb body. It is equipped with a 340kg warhead and has a reported range of 25km. Suitable for launch at altitudes between 300ft and 30,000ft, the design's solid-propellant rocket motor has a two-second burn time, providing high-subsonic performance.

The weapon, which has four large fixed wings attached to its main body, shares the Qadr's guidance system, but benefits from a modified autopilot. It is unclear if the Zoobin has a 'man-in-the loop' control function, although the weapon appears to have the provision for a datalink housing to its rear. This would allow an operator to update and refine the missile's targeting in the air.

The designers behind the Zoobin system told JDW that talks have been conducted with export customers interested in the precision-guided weapon.

GBU-67/9 A Qadr

Length: 4.1m

Diameter: 457mm

Wing span: 1.1m

All-up weight: 1,111kg

Maximum range: 20km

AGM-379/20 Zoobin

Length: 3.1m

Diameter: 406mm

Wing span: 1.2m

Tail span: 0.85m

All-up weight: 560kg

Maximum range: 25km