In the last column on military notes of the Iran War, we discussed Coalition's military capability. We continue by detailing Iran's Comparative Combat Potential (CCP).

Iran's has expansive ballistic and cruise missile capability. But first difference between both. A ballistic missile is a small rocket, whose trajectory goes above atmosphere, and it speeds through gravity while descending. A cruise missile is an earth-hugging small plane, travelling within atmosphere, and is continuously powered. In ballistic missiles, Iran has short range (different variants of Zulfiqar, Shahab, and Fatah series), and medium range combinations. In medium range, Iran's ballistic inventory includes Emad (1,700 km), Khorramshahr (1,000-2,000 km) or solid fuel Sejil and Shahab Series (up to 2,400 km) etc. They effectively cover the entire Israel, Gulf and Saudi Arabia from Iran proper, or from forward deployments in Yemen and Iraq.

Fatah series of hypersonic ballistic missiles (Fatah-1 ranging 1,400 km and Fatah-2, 1,500 km) developed by the Pasdaran/IRGC can travel at speeds between Mach 13 to 15 and evade advanced AD systems. At this speed, they hit Israel within 400 seconds, whereas Israeli AD response (detection, decision-making, launch and people going to bunkers) generally takes 15-20 minutes. Fatah-1 is a maneuvering missile whereas Fatah-2 comprises a hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV) for enhanced maneuverability and unpredictability. These hypersonic missiles, of which roughly 50% survive out of approximately 3,000, remain the biggest US-Israel worry. Fatah and Khorramshahr missiles and Shahed drones carry significant payload, loiter longer and undertake strike, surveillance and electronic warfare roles.

In cruise missile category, Iran fields Soumar Series, Paveh, Ya-Ali, and........

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