Iran’s Kheibar Sheken Missile: A Nightmare for the US and Israel I
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Dr. Syed Mehboob
Senior Research Editor
The News Lark,
Political and economic analyst
America is a superpower, the world’s most influential and powerful country; it has 750 military bases in 80 countries. It has the highest defense budget of US$ 1,000 billion. It invaded Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq and recently kidnapped the Venezuelan president. It supported Israel’s worst genocide of modern human history. US and Israel attacked Iran and killed its frontline military leadership, scientists, and its supreme leaders Ayatullah Khameni. Israel and the US mistaken that once they attacked Iran, people would come out and overthrow the Iranian government. They didn’t have an idea that Iranian leadership has it deep roots in the hearts and minds of its people. Iranian leadership, under the guidance and supervision of Ayatullah Khamenei, is equipped with spiritual power, and it is now ready at all to bow its head before US and Israel dictation.
Iran's war strategy is min- blogging. The US and Israel used very costly planes and missiles, while Iran used low-cost missiles and drones. Iranian people, leadership, and military command is unanimous and united to defend their homeland. They have exhibited extraordinary patriotism, a firm belief in Allah Almighty, and wiped out the supremacy of the USA from the minds and hearts of people. Its Kheibar Shekan missile proved catastrophic against the USA and Israel.
Kheibar Shekan is an Iranian Solid-Fuel medium range ballistic missile operated by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force ( IRGCAF) . It is the 3rd generation of IRGC missiles and was unveiled in 2022 at a ceremony attended by Iranian military commanders on the 43rd anniversary of the Iranian Islamic Revolution (IIR). The missile is propelled by solid fuel, and its warhead is maneuverable in the terminal phase with the objective of evading air defenses. It has the ability to hit targets within a range of 1.450 kilometers. Kheibar reminds us of “ the battle of Kheibar “ in Madina, which was fought between Muslims and Jews, and Prophet Muhammad ( Peace be upon him ) gave the Islamic flag to Hazrat Syedna Ali ( May Allah shower His countless blessings on his grave), and he played a decisive role in defeating jews. Hazrat Ali conquered the fort of Kheibar, and since then he was given the title of “ Kheibar Sheken”. Sheken means “ destroyer”. The Kheibar Shekan missile is 11.4 meters long, 76 centimeters in diameter, and weighs 4.5 tons with a 550-kilogram warhead. Its warhead is a fast and intense explosive type, and its body is made of composite materials, the same as the Raad-500 missile. One of the advantages of the Kheibar Shekan missile is its smaller dimensions compared to similar models; therefore, more of them can be stored in the limited space of underground missile bases. The relatively large dimensions of the Kheibar Shekan's re-entry vehicle increase the flexibility after re-entering the atmosphere and allow for more sophisticated and faster maneuvers to attempt to defeat missile defenses. The velocity of the warhead at the moment of impact is reportedly estimated at Mach. The reentry vehicle's configuration is of the tri-conic type, which maintains the warhead's stability during re-entry. According to Iranian state media sources, by making engineering compromises and increasing the drag force, the missile has achieved more maneuverability.
The Kheibar Shekan missile can use a wide range of launchers. The launcher used for the missile is mounted on a 10-wheel commercial chassis that can also be camouflaged as a commercial vehicle.
On 1 October 2024, Iran launched 181 ballistic missiles at Israel in response to Israel's assassination of Hassan Nasrallah and IRGC Commander Abbas Nilforoushan on 27 September. Kheibar Shekan missiles were among those reportedly used in the attack.
Kheibar Shekan was also used in combat in the 2026 Iran war. According to a Wall Street Journal report, Iran has adapted to the US air defence systems and evolved the method of deployment of Kheibar Shekan missiles.
Key Technical Specifications
• Range: ~1,450 km (900 miles), placing regional targets and adversaries within striking distance.
• Propulsion: Solid-fuel motor, which allows the missile to be pre-fueled, stored ready-to-launch, and fired much faster than older liquid-fuel systems.
• Mobility: Road-mobile and launched from transporter-erector-launchers (TELs), cutting preparation time down significantly and allowing launchers to relocate post-firing.
• Guidance & Re-entry: Utilizes satellite navigation alongside a Maneuverable Re-entry Vehicle (MaRV) payload, enabling the warhead to adjust its trajectory during terminal descent to complicate interception.
Strategic Significance
• Defense Penetration: Its terminal maneuverability and high re-entry speeds pose distinct challenges for conventional multi-layered air defense networks (such as Patriot, THAAD, or Israeli systems).
• Cost Asymmetry: Analysts note that producing and deploying the Kheibar Shekan offers a favorable cost-to-exchange ratio for Iran compared to the high interceptor costs spent by opposing forces.
• Tactical Integration: Often deployed in combined operational waves alongside unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) and other missile variants to saturate regional defense grids.
Iran’s Kheibar Shekan medium-range ballistic missile has emerged as one of the most significant challenges to the U.S.-led war effort against the country, with U.S. officials increasingly warning that the weapon’s improving performance and more sophisticated employment are complicating regional missile defense efforts. U.S. officials have reportedly become increasingly concerned not only by the missile itself, but also by the way it is now being employed. Rather than launching missiles along predictable trajectories, Iranian forces have increasingly combined varied flight paths, differing speeds, maneuvering re-entry vehicles and coordinated drone attacks designed to complicate defensive responses. Such tactics force U.S. and allied missile defense systems to expend substantially larger numbers of expensive interceptors while reducing the probability of successful interceptions.
The Kheibar Shekan’s maneuverable nose section has attracted particular attention. Unlike conventional ballistic missiles that follow relatively predictable terminal trajectories, the missile is capable of making adjustments during the final stages of flight, reducing the effectiveness of existing missile defense systems. Travelling at hypersonic velocities during re-entry, the missile provides defenders with only a very limited engagement window while simultaneously forcing interceptors to contend with last-minute maneuvers. The missile’s design lineage is thought to trace back to Iranian procurements of North Korean Hwasong-10 ballistic missiles in the 2000s, with North Korean technology transfers having since played an important role in supporting the rapid modernization of Iran’s missile industry.
Developed to equip the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force, the Kheibar Shekan is a solid-fuel medium-range ballistic missile capable of striking targets up to approximately 1,450 kilometers away. Unlike many of Iran’s older liquid-fuel ballistic missiles, the solid-fuel design allows significantly faster launch preparation, reducing vulnerability to pre-emptive strikes while allowing launchers to relocate rapidly after firing. The missile is road-mobile and can be launched from transporter-erector-launchers, making it considerably more survivable than fixed launch systems. Surface-to-Air Missile Launch From THAAD System - Each Launch Costs over $15.5 Million. The growing sophistication of Iranian missile attacks comes as U.S. forces are already facing mounting concerns regarding interceptor stockpiles. U.S. Army and Navy missile defense operations have relied heavily on THAAD and Patriot ground-based systems and AEGIS destroyers armed with SM-3 and SM-6 interceptors. Repeated engagements against Iranian missile attacks have steadily reduced available inventories, prompting growing concern within the Pentagon regarding long-term sustainability should the conflict continue at its current intensity. ( continue)
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