IRGC Touts New Ballistic Missile

The Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) says it has developed a new ballistic missile capable of defeating advanced air defense systems, reports the semi-official Tasnim news agency (Tehran).

On Thursday, Brig. Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the head of the IRGC aerospace forces, told reporters that the indigenously developed ballistic missile is capable of achieving hypersonic speeds and can maneuver within and above the atmosphere.

Hypersonic speeds are those greater than Mach 5. Most ballistic missiles achieve such speeds and are not the same as the hypersonic glide weapons and cruise missiles being developed by China, Russia and the U.S.

The weapon is designed to defeat missile defense systems, the general said.