Iran claims to have produced key engine for supersonic missile tech
The announcement was the latest in a chain of advancements Iran has claimed in its missile technology in defiance of Western criticism and amid regional tensions.
Iran's defense minister said his country has developed "ramjet" engines, the key component to supersonic cruise missiles.
Brig. Gen. Mohammad Reza Ashtiani told a crowd of worshippers in Tehran on Friday that the Iranian Defense Ministry is now capable of mass producing the engine, which can boost a cruise missile's speed to five times the sound of speed.
The development, according to the Iranian general, was accomplished using domestic capabilities and came less than a fortnight after the Islamic Republic said it had acquired the know-how to produce supersonic missiles, introducing its first homemade version, dubbed "Fattah."
Features of Iran's hypersonic missile, which cannot be destroyed by any missile:#Fattah pic.twitter.com/N0Z2sR6Hyq
— IRNA News Agency ☫ (@IrnaEnglish) June 6, 2023
The ramjet engine technology could now place Iran on the path to being a mass producer of cruise missiles, according to Tasnim news agency, which is run by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Tasnim also highlighted how those Iranian missiles will be "extremely difficult" to intercept thanks to the indigenous ramjets.
