Sajjil
Encyclopedia
The Sejil missile also known as Sajjil, is a family of Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...

ian solid-fueled ballistic missiles. The Sejil are replacements for the Shahab
Shahab
Shahab may refer to:* a male given name in Arabic and also Persian, meaning meteor or shooting star, or a bright star that illuminates the heavens* Shahab F.C., Iranian football club in Semnan...

 liquid-fueled ballistic missiles. According to US Pentagon
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...

 sources, the missile profile of the Sejil closely matches those of the Ashura (Ghadr-110
Ghadr-110
The Ghadr-110 is a medium-range ballistic missile designed and developed by Iran. The missile has a range of 2,500 km to 3,000 km. The Iranian Armed Forces first displayed the missile to the public at an annual military parade to mark the Iran-Iraq war.The Ghadr-110 is an improved version of the...

) and the Samen.

Sejil-1

The Sejil is a two-stage, solid-propellant, surface-to-surface missile (SSM)
Surface-to-surface missile
A surface-to-surface missile is a guided projectile launched from a hand-held, vehicle mounted, trailer mounted or fixed installation or from a ship. They are often powered by a rocket motor or sometimes fired by an explosive charge, since the launching platform is typically stationary or moving...

 produced by Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...

 with a reported 1930 km (1,199.2 mi) range. A successful test launch took place on November 13, 2008. Its range, if confirmed, would allow it to strike targets as far away as Israel and southeastern Europe, though Iran asserts that it is intended for purely defensive purposes.

Design

According to Jane's Information Group
Jane's Information Group
Jane's Information Group is a publishing company specializing in transportation and military topics.-History:It was founded by Fred T...

, details of the design other than the number of stages and that it uses solid fuel have not been released. Uzi Ruben, former director of Israel's Ballistic Missile Defense Organization, indicated that, "Unlike other Iranian missiles, the Sajil bears no resemblance to any North Korean, Russian, Chinese or Pakistani (missile technology). It demonstrates a significant leap in Iran's missile capabilities." Rubin went on to state that the Sejil-1 " ... places Iran in the realm of multiple-stage missiles, which means that they are on the way to having intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capabilities ..." As a weapon, the Sejil-1 presents much more challenge to Iran's potential enemies, as solid-fuel missiles can be launched with much less notice than liquid-fueled missiles, making them more difficult to strike them prior to launch.

Sejil-2

Sejil-2 is an upgraded version of the Sejil. The Sejil-2 two-stage solid-fuel missile has a 2,000km range and was first test fired on May 20, 2009. The Sejil-2 surface-to-surface medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM)
Medium-range ballistic missile
A medium-range ballistic missile , is a type of ballistic missile with medium range, this last classification depending on the standards of certain organizations. Within the U.S. Department of Defense, a medium range missile is defined by having a maximum range of between 1,000 and 3,000 km1...

 was first tested eight months prior to the actual test launch, which took place in the central Iranian province of Semnan
Semnan Province
Semnan Province is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. It is in the north of the country, and its center is Semnan. The province of Semnan covers an area of 96,816 square kilometers and stretches along the Alborz mountain range and borders to Dasht-e Kavir desert in its southern parts.Counties of...

. Improvements include better navigation system, better targeting system, more payload, longer range, faster lift-off, longer storage time, quicker launch, and lower detection possibility. On December 16, 2009,an upgraded version of Sejil-2 was test fired.
This new version of the Sejil-2 is faster during the powered flight portion of its trajectory and also during the re-entry phase.
It is also harder to detect for anti-missile systems, as it is covered with anti-radar material.
The new highly maneuverable missile is also more efficient as it requires less amount of time for prelaunch preparations.
Political commentator Kiyan Nader Mokhtari elaborated more about the features of the new missile.
"The engine and various fuels have been tested and the platform is now highly reliable. The latest tests to be carried out are mainly to do with the variety of warheads that it has to carry," he said.
"Some of the warheads obviously have been designed to be able to evade anti-ballistic missile defenses of the enemy in actual battle conditions," he added.

See also

  • Military of Iran
    Military of Iran
    The Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran include the IRIA and the IRGC and the Police Force .These forces total about 545,000 active personnel . All branches of armed forces fall under the command of General Headquarters of Armed Forces...

  • Iran's missile forces
  • Iranian military industry
    Iranian military industry
    Iran's military industry has taken great strides in the past 25 years, and now manufactures many types of arms and equipments. According to Iranian officials, the country sold $100 million worth of military equipment in 2003. and as of 2006 had exported weapons to 57 countries...

  • Current Equipment of the Iranian Army
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