Iran successfully tests solid fuel rocket

5/31/2005

Iran has successfully tested a new missile using solid-fuel technology that matches its 2,000 kilometer range Shahab-3 rocket, a technological breakthrough that sparked fresh alarm in Israel, the Islamic republic’s defence minister was quoted as saying on Tuesday.

Iran has recently upgraded the Shahab-3 ballistic missile, based on a North Korean design, leaving Israel and U.S. bases in the region well within range.

"It was a test of a motor and not a test of a missile," a defence ministry official told reporters on Tuesday, clarifying earlier reports that the missile itself was tested on Sunday.

Defence Minister Ali Shamkhani was quoted as saying that "the more durable fuel allows the missile to be more accurate", adding that the new technology could be built into Iran's Shahab-3 missiles.

Shamkhani said that the missile test was "100 percent successful".

According to military experts, the test signifies an important breakthrough for Iran’s missile programme.

In order to develop a missile with 2,000 kilometres range, a country needs to master the more complex solid fuel technology.

"The maximum range of a single stage missile is around 2,000 kilometers. In order to send a missile further, you need a twin stage design that separates in mid flight," one analyst said.

"This separation is very complex, and in order to maintain the accuracy of the missile, it needs to be using solid fuel. In very simplistic terms, think of a liquid fuel missile as a bottle of mineral water -- the liquid is sloshing around and makes the bottle unstable," he said.

"And even if the missile is only a single stage design, solid fuel makes it more accurate," he added.

Also experts say that solid fuel missiles are more mobile and can be deployed far more quickly than liquid fuel devices, which need to filled up immediately before they are launched.

"It makes the missiles far more portable. It makes missile deployment much quicker. It makes missile deployment teams ," a military analyst said.

In response to the latest Iranian test, Israel warned the "free world to beware of Iran's plans".

"We are closely monitoring these worrying projects being plotted in Iran," one senior Israeli official said.

"Iran is trying to develop a nuclear weapon and is developing its vectors to this end. Its ballistic missiles do not only threaten Israel: they can also be turned on Europe," he added.

Iran affirms it doesn’t seek developing missiles with a longer range than the Shahab-3.

It has repeatedly denied accusations that it is seeking to develop nuclear weapons.
However many are not convinced, wirh one Western diplomat in Iran saying "why develop a Rolls Royce to only deliver a pizza?"