The Saegheh ("Lightning" or "Thunder" in Persian) (also spelled Saegre, Saeghe, Saeqeh, etc.) is any of at least eight completely separate Iranian weapons systems: a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) warhead, an anti-tank guided missile family, a surface-to-surface rocket, a target drone family, an air-to-air missile, a claimed stealth unmanned aerial vehicle, a fighter jet, and an anti-ship cruise missile.
The first system, the Saeghe 1, is an Iranian reverse-engineered clone of the American M47 Dragon wire-guided SACLOS ATGM, introduced in 2001. [1] [2] It seems to have entered production in 2002. [3] Iran later introduced the Saeghe 2, a more advanced variant with a tandem-warhead to defeat explosive reactive armor, [4] and the Saeghe-4, with a thermobaric warhead. [5] The Saeghe-1 weights 6.1 kilograms (13 lb) and can penetrate armor up to 500 millimetres (20 in). The 7.4-kilogram (16 lb)Saeghe 2 missile has a tandem warhead and can penetrate up to 760 millimetres (30 in) of armor. [4] The Saeghe 1 and Saeghe 2 ATGMs have a range of 50 to 1,000 metres (160 to 3,280 ft). [4]
Despite being essentially obsolete, Saegheh anti-tank guided missiles have been exported to Syria, Hezbollah, [6] and Shia militias in Iraq. The Saeghe 1 and Saeghe 2 were in production and service as of 2011, though they were not widely deployed. [7] The Saeghe ATGM is extremely hard to aim and in Iranian service it appears to be limited to IRGC and rapid response forces. [8]
In 2006, Iran tested a completely unrelated short-range surface-to-surface missile [9] that is also named Saegheh. It has a range of 80 to 250 kilometres (50 to 155 mi). [9]
Under the Saegheh name, Iran has also built a variant warhead for RPG-7 style rocket launchers. Iran also uses the Saeghe name for a target drone [10] (which comes in two variants: Saeghe 1 and Saeghe 2 [11] ) and an air-to-air missile. [12]
The semi-official Tasnim news agency of Iran reported in September 2016 that an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV, drone) named Saegheh similar to the US RQ-170 Sentinel spy drone had been built. It was said to be able to carry four precision-guided bombs; range was not stated. An RQ-170 had been captured by Iran in 2011. [13]
The Saegheh name is further reused for the HESA Saeqeh, a low production jet fighter, and for the Saeghe anti-ship cruise missile. [14]
The AGM-114 Hellfire is an American missile developed for anti-armor use, later developed for precision drone strikes against other target types, especially high-value targets. It was originally developed under the name "Heliborne laser, fire-and-forget missile", which led to the colloquial name "Hellfire" ultimately becoming the missile's formal name. It has a multi-mission, multi-target precision-strike ability and can be launched from multiple air, sea, and ground platforms, including the MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper. The Hellfire missile is the primary 100-pound (45 kg) class air-to-ground precision weapon for the armed forces of the United States and many other countries. It has also been fielded on surface platforms in the surface-to-surface and surface-to-air roles.
The 9M133 Kornet is a Russian man-portable anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) intended for use against main battle tanks. It was first introduced into service with the Russian army in 1998.
The M47 Dragon, known as the FGM-77 during development, is an American shoulder-fired, man-portable anti-tank guided missile system. It was phased out of U.S. military service in 2001, in favor of the newer FGM-148 Javelin system.
The RPG-29 "Vampir" is a Soviet reusable rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) launcher. Adopted by the Soviet Army in 1989, it was the last RPG to be adopted by the Soviet military before the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.
The 9M14 Malyutka is a manual command to line of sight (MCLOS) wire-guided anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) system developed in the Soviet Union. It was the first man-portable anti-tank guided missile of the Soviet Union and is probably the most widely produced ATGM of all time—with Soviet production peaking at 25,000 missiles a year during the 1960s and 1970s. In addition, copies of the missile have been manufactured under various names by at least six countries.
The Fateh-110, also known as NP-110 is an Iranian solid-fueled surface-to-surface ballistic missile produced by Iran's Aerospace Industries Organization since 2002. It is single-stage, road-mobile and can carry a high-explosive warhead of up to 500 kg. Four different versions, the Fateh-110A, 110B, 110D-1 and Fateh-E Mobin were developed with varying accuracy. The latest version, first shown to the public in August 2018 reportedly has a range of 300 km is reportedly more accurate than previous versions.
The Misagh-1 is an Iranian man-portable surface-to-air missile. It was developed by the Shahid Kazemi Industrial Complex in Tehran.
The Raad or RAAD is an Iranian wire-guided anti-tank guided missile based on the Soviet 9M14M Malyutka missile. The Raad began mass production in 1988 and was publicly unveiled in 1997. It is manufactured by Parchin Missile Industries, a subsidiary of Iran's Defense Industries Organization.
Hezbollah, a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and militia group, has an exceptionally strong military wing, thought to be stronger than the Lebanese Army and equivalent to the armed strength of a medium-sized army. A hybrid force, the group maintains "robust conventional and unconventional military capabilities", and is generally considered to be the most powerful non-state actor in the world.
The HESA Ababil is an Iranian family of single-engine multirole tactical unmanned aerial vehicles manufactured by Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company (HESA). The Ababil comes in four main lines, the Ababil-2 ,3, 4 and 5, of which the Ababil-2 has a number of variants. It is considered a long-range, low-technology drone.
The Toophan is an Iranian SACLOS anti-tank guided missile reverse-engineered from the American BGM-71 TOW missile. The Toophan 1, an unlicensed copy of the BGM-71A TOW missile, began mass production in 1988 and the Toophan 2, a BGM-71C ITOW variant, was publicly shown in 2000.
The Qods Mohajer is an Iranian single-engine tactical unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) built by the Qods Aviation Industry Company in four main variants from the 1980s to the present day. The Mohajer family is primarily used for reconnaissance, and is among the most mature and well-known Iranian UAVs.
Bulgaria is a NATO member country with a large indigenous defence industry. Most of its weaponry is of Soviet design, but with significantly improved performance. Bulgaria is ranked as a "medium" small arms exporter according to the Small Arms Survey.
The Shahed Saegheh, also called the Shahed 191, is an Iranian turbofan/piston-powered flying wing unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) produced by Shahed Aviation Industries. It is based on, but smaller than and substantially different from, a Lockheed Martin RQ-170 Sentinel UAV that was captured by Iran in 2011 and then reverse-engineered. It is one of two Iranian flying wing UAVs based on the RQ-170, along with the Shahed 171 Simorgh, a larger version.
The 9M133M Kornet-M Russian anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) is an improved version of the 9M133 Kornet ATGM, with increased range and an improved warhead.
The Shahed 171 Simorgh is an Iranian jet-powered flying wing unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) produced by Shahed Aviation Industries.
The Sadid-1 is an Iranian TV-guided anti-tank missile derived from Iran's Toophan missiles.
The LMUR is a Russian helicopter-launched air-to-surface missile. It is also recognized under the alternative designations Izdeliye 305 and 9A-7755.
