How significant is Iran's unveiling of latest hypersonic cruising missile?

Iran continues to voice support for Hamas in its war against Israel while boosting its own military capabilities.

Adam Lucente
Adam Lucente
A truck carries an Iranian Fattah hypersonic ballistic missile during the annual military parade marking the anniversary of the outbreak of the devastating 1980-1988 war with Saddam Hussein's Iraq, in Tehran, Iran, Sept. 22, 2023.
A truck carries an Iranian Fattah hypersonic ballistic missile during the annual military parade marking the anniversary of the outbreak of the devastating 1980-1988 war with Saddam Hussein's Iraq, in Tehran, Iran, Sept. 22, 2023. — -/AFP via Getty Images

Iran unveiled on Sunday new hypersonic missile, a potential boost to Iran’s military capabilities amid the Israel-Hamas war. 

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force unveiled the Fattah 2 at Ashura Aerospace Science and Technology University during a visit by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported. 

Iran unveiled its first Fattah hypersonic missile in June, claiming it could hit targets at a distance of 1,400 kilometers (870 miles). The report did not specify how the Fattah 2 differs from the original Fattah, but said the Fattah 2 is in both the hypersonic glide vehicle and hypersonic cruise missile classes of weapons. The agency did not mention whether the Fattah 2 has been tested.

Hypersonic glide vehicles are launched from a rocket, like ballistic missiles, while hypersonic cruise missiles are powered by engines of their own. Hypersonic missiles travel at five times the speed of sound or more. 

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