By admin 
- Iran has given Russia short-range ballistic missiles, the US says.
- That will give the country more flexibility and firepower to hit the front lines.
- It also gives other Russian missiles room to go deeper into other targets, experts say.
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With Iranian ballistic missiles, Russia has a flexibility that could be a major problem for Ukraine. It can gain frontline positions with cheap means Iranian weapons while reserving its more expensive weapons for other targets at depth.
From a cost-benefit perspective, low-value Ukrainian targets on the front lines are not ideal for expensive, advanced precision-guided missiles, supplies under constant pressure.
The supply of cheaper Iranian missiles creates new opportunities. “Russia’s focus will likely be on using it for short tactical battlefield targets,” Timothy Wright, a missile technology expert at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), told BI.
New rockets
Two European defense officials said this Reuters in August that they expected Iran to deliver hundreds of Fath-360 short-range ballistic missiles to Russia, as well as some Ababil short-range ballistic missiles. The Pentagon confirmed delivery of the Fath-360 in September.
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Fath-360s, said Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder of the Air Force, have a range of about 75 miles. According to the IISS, Ababils have a range of about 85 kilometers.
It is not clear whether Russia has already used either system. Reuters reported in September that Iran did not include launchers for the Fath-360 missiles in the deliveries, so the country may not yet have the capacity to fire them.
But presumably they plan to use them. Wright said the Russian plan is likely to “get the Iranian stuff on board so they can go after stuff within the immediate periphery of the front lines.”
Fabian Hoffman, a doctoral researcher at the Oslo Nuclear Project, told BI: “Iranian missiles, lacking their own range, are certainly limited to frontline targets.” He said the Iranian missiles “allow Russia to exert even more pressure on frontline targets.”
Freeing Russian missiles
Ryder, the Pentagon spokesman, said in September that the Iranian missiles “would allow Russia to deploy this capability while maintaining its longer-range capabilities for use across the battlefield, deepening Russia’s arsenal.” Russia could focus on attacking the targets it has already hit, such as civilian targets, he said.
Other targets for Russian missiles could include high-value Ukrainian systems in the rear. It is not clear exactly to what extent Iran’s ballistic missiles will free up other Russian precision munitions for other targets, but Hoffman said it is clear that “the overall volume will increase.” That gives Russia options.
A Russian Iskander rocket launcher.
Photo by Contributor/Getty Images
Fabian Hinz, an IISS rocket expert, argued in a September analysis that the use of Iranian missiles with shorter ranges could free up Russia’s longer-range Iskander missiles “for additional strikes against targets deep within Ukraine.” He said that “while these Iranian missiles may not introduce new capabilities to the Russian war effort, they will provide greater flexibility and, most importantly, additional quantity.”
Ties between Russia and Iran
Russia has significantly deepened its relations with Iran since the country invaded Ukraine and North Korea in February 2022. where Russia has also received tactical missiles. These new missile purchases from Iran continue that trend, allowing Russia to acquire additional weapons and Iran to help a country that is resisting the West.
Hinz also wrote in his analysis that Russia’s purchase of missiles highlights Russia’s “continued inability to produce sufficient comparable domestic systems.” That’s where North Korea and Iran come into the picture.
He pointed to Russia’s purchase of North Korea’s KN-23 missiles, which he said do not provide capabilities beyond what its own Iskander missiles can do, “but add additional mass to the battlefield.”
The full picture of Russia’s defense capabilities is unclear, but many Western experts and intelligence agencies have at times pointed to Russia’s inability to produce enough missiles and other munitions to meet its needs.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
VLADIMIR SMIRNOV/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Iranian Fath 360 missiles do not seem remarkably accuratebut Russia has more weapons and increases the threat to Ukraine. It also fits into Russia’s tactics of using overwhelming numbers of lower-quality equipment and poorly trained soldiers in an attempt to wear down the Ukrainians.
Ukraine, meanwhile, has urged its allies to give the country more missiles and air defense systems so it can hit Russian targets and protect its critical systems and infrastructure. Wright said Ukraine’s international partners have given the country “fairly small numbers” of missiles.
But the re-election of former President Donald Trump puts into question the amount of aid the country can receive from the West in the future, as Trump, while not announcing any concrete plans, regularly criticizes US aid to Ukraine, simply arguing that he wants to end the war.
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