News - Iran Equips IRGC with Large Numbers of 'Qiyam 1' Ballistic Missiles - FNA

Iran Equips IRGC with Large Numbers of 'Qiyam 1' Ballistic Missiles

TEHRAN (FNA)- The Iranian Defense Ministry started supplying large numbers of 'Qiyam (Rise) 1' high-precision ballistic missiles to the Aerospace Force of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) on Sunday.

The new missiles were supplied to the IRGC in a ceremony attended by Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi and Commander of the IRGC Aerospace Force Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh.

Article Continued at: http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=9003016225


Photo Gallery at: http://english.farsnews.com/imgrep.php?nn=83010005

Brand new Qiams in 2011 (FNA)

More commonly spelled "Qiam-1", this ballistic missile was only recently unveiled during a test-firing in August 2010. During the delivery ceremony at least 10 missiles were visible in their storage configurations. This would seem to indicate that the current production rate is one per month which may or may not be the maximum potential capability.


The missile itself is reminiscent of Iran's other designs which are derivatives of the SCUD-family, specifically the Shahab-2/SCUD-C. The major difference was of course the "triconic" warhead and the removal of the four stabilizing fins at the rear of the missile. The implication to the latter is that the control mechanism/guidance is much more accurate which would have to account for the increased instability.

However the biggest debate so far over the missile has been about it's dimensions. While it is externally identical in most regards to the Shahab-2, some observers including the author have brought up the possibility that the missile is smaller then the Shahab-2/SCUD-C. My own calculations indicate a diameter of .7 m and a height of 8.63 m versus a diameter of .88 m and a height of 11.25 m for the SCUD-C. Both numbers correspond to 76-79% of the original SCUD-C dimensions.

However there are a number of "unknowns" in this equation such as the height of the people being used as reference points, the distortion caused  by looking up at the top of the missile, and the distortion caused by measuring objects that are in different axis. These all add layers of inaccuracy on the calculations above.

The image most often used to measure the Qiam (FNA)

Moreover, there's also a number of "logical" concerns about scaling down the missile, the chief among them being "why"? Scaling a Shahab-2 down 20% offers no readily apparent advantage over a design that's already proven and has established tooling and production lines.

At this point, it is the opinion of this blog's author that the Qiam may or may not be somewhat smaller then the Shahab-2 and that we, while we should keep our minds open to the possibility, cannot say with undeniable conviction that there is a dimensional difference.







For detailed discussions on the dimensions and other characteristics of the missile, readers are invited to visit the following sites:


Arms Control Wonk - Iran's Qiam Missile Comments (2010)

Iran Military Forum - Qiam-1 Missile Tested Successfully (2010)

Iran Military Forum - Qiam-1 Missile is now Being Delivered to IRGC (2011)