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iran unveiled two new drones and ballistic missiles that can attack israel from its homeland at a sensitive time. iran held a military parade in tehran on september 21. at the parade, the model troops of the islamic revolutionary guard corps, the iranian army and the police respectively displayed their latest missiles, drones and radar achievements, among which the most eye-catching were the "witness-136b" attack drone and the new "jihad" ballistic missile. as the military conflict between israel and hezbollah escalated at a sensitive time, the appearance of these two weapons attracted attention from the outside world.

iran displays a new type of "jihad" ballistic missile.

striking new weapons

according to the islamic republic of iran broadcasting and television, the new drone is called "witness-136b" and has a range of 4,000 kilometers, making it one of the most advanced drones in the world. previously, due to the appearance of suicide drones similar to iran's "witness-136" (named "geranium-2" in russia) in the russian-ukrainian conflict, which were frequently used to strike ukrainian targets from a distance, "witness-136" became widely known.

the witness-136 is 3.5 meters long, has a wingspan of 2.5 meters, and can fly at a speed of 180 kilometers per hour. it is powered by an md550 gasoline piston engine and takes off with rockets. it weighs more than 200 kilograms, has a maximum theoretical range of 600 kilometers (iran claims that the range can reach 1,800 to 2,500 kilometers), and a warhead weight of 50 kilograms. the aircraft adopts a low-aspect-ratio delta-wing layout without a horizontal tail, and a cylindrical fuselage integrated with the wings, and is transported by a small trailer or truck.

the appearance of the "witness-136b" suicide drone is very different from that of the "witness-136".

judging from the published photos, there are significant differences between the witness-136b and the witness-136. in terms of appearance, the witness-136b still has a roughly cylindrical fuselage, but it uses a straight wing with a large aspect ratio and a small sweep angle, which is currently the most popular choice for medium-altitude, long-endurance uavs around the world, thus providing greater lift (this is consistent with the 4,000-kilometer range design of this type of uav, while the witness-136 uses a triangular wing); the tail uses a horizontal tail, but the vertical stabilizer at the wing tip should be fixed like the witness-136, which only increases stability and cannot be used as a vertical tail. in terms of guidance, the witness-136 uses inertial navigation plus satellite positioning. the version used by iran itself was seen to have an infrared guidance sensor on the nose for target identification, while the version provided to russia did not.

the "witness-136" suicide drone uses triangular wings.

it is said that the russian side adopted a pilot mode, that is, using other drones or aerial vehicles for guidance, such as the "migratory bird-6" medium-sized drone or the "witness-129" large drone for reconnaissance, and transmitting target coordinates and other data to the "witness-136" operator through the data link, so that he can correct the flight path and aim the drone at the target. on the nose of the "witness-136b", you can see an obvious bulge, which should be installed with a satellite antenna inside, which not only helps to expand the control range, but also allows the drone to send relevant data back to the ground control station in time (but the "witness-136b" unveiled this time is not equipped with an optoelectronic seeker or optoelectronic pod). in addition, the power system of the "witness-136b" still chooses a piston engine + propeller that helps with long-range flight; in terms of attack methods, there are no equipment such as weapon racks on the wings and fuselage of the aircraft, so it should still use suicide attacks, but the charge and power may be increased.

the jihad missile is a medium-range ballistic missile that uses a solid rocket engine. it is designed and manufactured by the aerospace department of the islamic revolutionary guard corps of iran and has a range of 1,000 kilometers. currently, there is very little information about the jihad missile, but judging from its appearance, some analysts believe that it may have some origins with the mudstone-2 missile and the pillar missile.

the mudstone-2 missile is a two-stage ground-to-ground medium-range ballistic missile independently developed and manufactured by iran. the missile is completely propelled by solid fuel and has a range of more than 2,000 kilometers. the mudstone-2 missile is 17.6 meters long, 1.25 meters in diameter, has a launch weight of 23.6 tons, and can carry a payload of 500 to 1,000 kilograms. the pillar missile is known as a precision-guided version of the meteor-3 missile. it uses a single-stage large liquid rocket power and has a range of about 1,600 to 1,800 kilometers. the biggest highlight is the first use of a double-cone maneuverable warhead. the front end of the warhead is a sharp cone, and the middle is a cylinder (the diameter increases to about 0.72 meters). the bottom of the column is equipped with 4 small aerodynamic control surfaces in the same line as the tail wing, and the bottom is a truncated cone, which helps to reduce aerodynamic drag and reentry stability.

the missile's warhead is made of ablative composite materials, which are significantly different from the metal material of the missile body. the missile's tail is composed of four truncated right-angled triangular tail fins distributed in an x shape, which can improve the missile's lift performance and increase the missile's directional stability to a certain extent. during the re-entry phase after the warhead is separated, the aerodynamic control surfaces can continue to play a role. in addition, the missile may carry a terminal guidance system similar to the "conqueror" series of missiles. the missile can be guided throughout the entire process, with high strike accuracy, and also has potential aerodynamic control penetration maneuverability.

the photos show that the "holy war" ballistic missile seems to have a "pillar" double-cone maneuverable warhead installed on the first stage of the "mudstone-2". if this is true, then this type of missile not only has the advantages of low logistics support pressure for solid missiles, high safety, short preparation time, and easy mobile launch, but also has the ability to accurately strike and penetrate maneuvers.

the "jihad" missile launcher is equipped with two missiles.

a “compromise” under pressure?

in fact, it is not surprising that iran is showing off its new weapons at this time. since the explosion of a large-scale communication equipment in lebanon on september 17, local time, the relationship between lebanon and israel has deteriorated sharply. the israeli defense forces said in the early morning of the 22nd that the israeli army attacked about 290 targets of hezbollah in lebanon on the 21st. on the evening of the 21st, the israeli army launched another round of attacks on about 110 targets of hezbollah in southern lebanon. reuters said that the 21st was the second consecutive day that the israeli army launched the "most violent air strikes" on lebanon since the outbreak of a new round of israeli-palestinian conflict on october 7 last year. the lebanese hezbollah issued a statement on the 21st saying that the lebanese hezbollah armed forces fired rockets at at least seven military bases in northern israel and the israeli-controlled golan heights that day. hezbollah said it would continue to fight the israeli army until israel agreed to a ceasefire in the gaza strip.

as a pillar of the "axis of resistance", iran needs to support lebanon at this time. it is reported that just before the military parade on the 21st, the new iranian president pezerhicyan delivered a speech calling on the "axis of resistance" to unite and stop israel from continuing to commit crimes in the middle east. in addition, the slogan "down with israel" was particularly conspicuous in the parade, so it is self-evident who the new weapons are targeting.

at the same time, iran still needs to exercise restraint towards israel. iran and israel have been fighting in the middle east for many years. in the past, they basically carried out a "shadow war" through "proxies". although the conflict has become public recently, both sides still have reservations. iranian leaders have repeatedly emphasized recently that they have no intention of exacerbating regional tensions. on the one hand, this is because the international community generally calls on iran to exercise restraint and avoid taking radical actions. at the same time, the united states and other western countries have also exerted tremendous pressure on iran, warning it not to provoke trouble. among them, the united states, as a staunch ally of israel, has always played an important role in the middle east. at present, the us election is imminent and it is unwilling to be involved in the war at this time. however, once iran takes retaliatory actions against israel, it is likely to trigger direct intervention from the united states, which will also play into israel's hands.

on the other hand, although iran has certain strength in conventional weapons, it still faces many challenges in the confrontation with israel and its allies. although iran's missile and drone technology is not weak, it takes a long time to launch from iran to israel, which provides israel and its allies with sufficient time to intercept; coupled with the current external sanctions from the west, internal economic downturn, social instability and many other challenges, iran cannot afford a large-scale war.

therefore, iran does not want to see the crisis "escalate too much" and hopes to make a statement without taking the risk of being too provocative. therefore, the "compromise" of showing strength through the military parade and announcing new weapons can not only achieve further military deterrence and make the outside world wary of iran's military capabilities, but also help calm the anger of some people in the country and enhance people's confidence in the government.