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cal04 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Apr-02-06 10:32 AM
Original message
Iran 'fires underwater missile'
Edited on Sun Apr-02-06 10:33 AM by cal04
(second missile test)

IRAN said it had test-fired what it described as the world's fastest underwater missile during a week of war games in the Gulf, Iranian state television reported. "The world's fastest underwater missile was successfully test fired on the third day of the Holy Prophet war games," state television reported in a caption without giving a source or details.

Western nations have been watching developments in Iran's missile capabilities with concern amid a stand-off over the Iranian nuclear program, which the west says is aimed at building atomic bombs. Iran says the program is
civilian. Iran's armed forces said last week they had successfully test fired a domestically produced missile from land which could evade radar. Iranian state television had said that missile was called Fajr-3. But Hossein Salami, head of the Revolutionary Guards air force, did not name the new weapon or give the missile's range, saying it depended on the warhead weight.

He told state television it was a defensive weapon. The US-based military affairs website globalsecurity.org describes the Fajr-3 as a 240mm artillery rocket with a 40km range, one of a group of light rockets Iran has developed mainly for tactical use on the battlefield. However, it also says Iran has been working on another missile, called the Kosar, that would be undetectable by radar and designed to sink ships in the Gulf.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,18691989%255E1702,00.html

Iran Calls Second Missile Test a Success
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060402/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iran_missile




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Tandalayo_Scheisskopf Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Apr-02-06 10:40 AM
Response to Original message
1. I have this gut feeling...
That Iran is making it up as they go along. Psyops.
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Skink Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Apr-02-06 10:42 AM
Response to Reply #1
2. We must now invest in an even faster underwater missile.
Must increase military budget.
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asjr Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Apr-02-06 10:43 AM
Response to Reply #1
4. Either that or we are.
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Sal316 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Apr-02-06 10:43 AM
Response to Original message
3. Isn't an 'underwater missile'....
...just a torpedo?

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DS1 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Apr-02-06 10:46 AM
Response to Reply #3
6. Rocket powered torpedo
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oneighty Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Apr-02-06 11:02 AM
Response to Reply #6
9. Yes
I recall USN talking about that possibility in the fifties. A point and shoot torpedo--no guidance system required since it was fast, very fast.

180
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Sal316 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Apr-02-06 11:20 AM
Response to Reply #9
12. I can see how it'd work.
Most AP/HTPB propellants will burn underwater. It'd be interesting to see how they solve the 'chuffing' problem.

(tee hee... Imma real life rocket scientist, so I know whereof I speak.)
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oneighty Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Apr-02-06 11:46 AM
Response to Reply #12
14. Interesting
I are not. But I visited the Cape as Navy EOD-Diver years ago to search the waters for parts of the first launch of the destructed Polaris.

The Vanguard Missile stood tall and proud and doomed to failure.

We were privileged to be with engineers and techs at the launching of the mighty Thor. A young man's dream to see those things.

I did see an artist's sketch of the torpedo. I cannot visualize it working.

180
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shadowknows69 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Apr-02-06 12:47 PM
Response to Reply #14
16. I stayed in a holiday inn express last night
does that count for anything?
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oneighty Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Apr-02-06 01:05 PM
Response to Reply #16
18. Of course it does
but not as interesting.

180
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dave29 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Apr-02-06 01:38 PM
Response to Reply #6
22. It hits the nail on the head
lol
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Trevelyan Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Apr-02-06 10:45 AM
Response to Original message
5. The Iranian Prime Minister is working for bushco?
Seems like he is playing his part to justify to the American people, some of whom were waking up, bushco second PNAC front for the oil and war profiteers.
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MadHound Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Apr-02-06 11:03 AM
Response to Reply #5
10. Actually my guess is that Iran is trying to save it's ass
Following the example of N. Korea, rattle the sabers, do test shots of missles, and the US backs off. After all, Iran has a prime example of what happens when you actually co-operate with Bushco right next door in Iraq. Inspectors get pulled out before they can deliver news that would negate the need for war, and the bombs start to fall. N. Korea shoots a few across the bow, and the US backs off and merely fires off words.
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KoKo Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Apr-02-06 10:57 AM
Response to Original message
7. Isn't the "Australian" a Murdoch type paper? Rattling the cages for the
Bushies, maybe? Seems to be alot of Iran hype around this weekend making it sound like Iran is ready to attack rather than the other way around. :shrug:
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brentspeak Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Apr-02-06 03:36 PM
Response to Reply #7
25. Thanks to Bush the First
and his use of PR firms to propagandize the build up to the Gulf War with total lies (ie. the phony babies/incubator story), it's now hard to know what to believe anymore whenever the latest Middle Eastern whack-job begins acting up.
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Jose Diablo Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Apr-02-06 10:57 AM
Response to Original message
8. Supercavitating torpedo
Supercavitating Torpedo

It has all the elements of a Tom Clancy thriller: a sunken Russian submarine with all hands lost, sophisticated Western naval surveillance, spies versus counterspies, high-level Kremlin intrigue, and a revolutionary secret-weapons technology that could turn battles. Although the story of the Russian VA-111 Shkval (Squall) supercavitating torpedo had been percolating in the West for years, it was really only last August 12 when the high-speed undersea missile splashed into the news. On that day the K-141Kursk, an Oscar II-class nuclear-powered submarine, sank mysteriously with 118 people on board in 354 feet of the icy waters of the Barents Sea.

UNDERWATER MISSLE. The VA-111 Shkval (Squall) supercavitating torpedo, shown here being launched from a Russian Navy Oscar II-class submarine, rockets to a speed over 200 mph, which would give a targeted vessel little chance to evade it.

More than twice the length of a jumbo jet, the undersea behemoth was one of the most modern subs in the Russian navy. It had been built with a single primary mission in mind--to attack NATO aircraft carrier groups. The Kursk's double-hull titanium construction and internal compartmentation made it extremely resistant to damage; only a very serious mishap could have sent it to the bottom.

...more



It'll be tough to transport oil, in the Persian Gulf if Iran has access to these "Supercavitating torpedoes".
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HereSince1628 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Apr-02-06 11:17 AM
Response to Reply #8
11. Yes, and immigration of Russian military scientists to Iran is a hop, skip
and a rather short jump.

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BrotherBuzz Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Apr-02-06 03:10 PM
Response to Reply #11
23. If they didn't but the technology outright - and secretly...
Russia has openly offered the Shkval for sale at international arms shows in recent years. Though few in the West have witnessed the Russian Shkval missile in action, several expert sources have seen a marketing video distributed to potential buyers. As one described the scene: "First of all, you only see the Shkval from the rear; you don't get to view the front of the torpedo where all the interesting stuff is--the cavitator, the ventilation ports, and so forth. The scene opens with the Shkval being launched off a patrol boat . After it drops below the surface there's an extended pause, when without warning, there's a bright flash in the water and you sense some commotion underneath the waves. After a short time, a triangular trail of bubbles starts to appear at the surface and moves off into the distance at a good pace. Meanwhile, not much else happens until all of a sudden, you see a little explosion way off on the horizon, followed by the delayed report. It's pretty amazing to see how far the thing has gone in such a short time." 

What the Hey, I heard about the 200mph torpedo on the radio early this morning and laughed, thinking propaganda. Reading this article make me wonder. :shrug:
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TomInTib Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Apr-02-06 01:28 PM
Response to Reply #8
20. A fascinating article. Thanks for the post..
Edited on Sun Apr-02-06 01:28 PM by TomInTib
I imagine there are a lot of people worried about this weapon right now.
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Marie26 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Apr-02-06 01:33 PM
Response to Reply #8
21. Setting up a new "Gulf of Tonkin" scenario?
Yes, I've joined the tin-foil crowd.
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susu369 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Apr-02-06 11:21 AM
Response to Original message
13. Another article
http://www.mg.co.za/articlepage.aspx?area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__international_news/&articleid=268244

Iran's paramilitary revolutionary guards (IRGC) said on Friday that a new missile was successfully tested during a naval manoeuvre, the news network Khabar reported.

=snip=

Iran announced last year that it had successfully tested a new engine using solid fuel in order to increase the range.

The week-long "Holy Prophet" naval manoeuvre started on Friday in the northern coasts of the Gulf and more than 17 000 armed forces took part in the war games.

The manoeuvre came less than two days after the United Nations Security Council issued a deadline urging Iran to suspend all uranium enrichment activities within 30 days. -- Sapa-DPA

=end=

The "Holy Prophet" war games (as opposed to the Wholly Profit war games).
If this is a BOOGA BOOGA tactic, I'll admit they (whomever they are) have my attention.




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Kagemusha Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Apr-02-06 11:51 AM
Response to Original message
15. Iran's trying to say it can block the straits of the Persian Gulf
And well, maybe they can, maybe they can't, but I wouldn't call it something to take lightly.
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lovuian Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Apr-02-06 12:51 PM
Response to Original message
17. While Bush touts his bunker buster Iran touts their power to close
the strait of Hormuz...hang onto your hats the next few months and years are going to get ugly...
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dave29 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Apr-02-06 01:26 PM
Response to Original message
19. "Holy Prophet" War Games
Edited on Sun Apr-02-06 01:29 PM by dave29
maybe we should incorporate some religious zeal into our mainly weather and geography related naming conventions for military operations.

Ideas:

Operation Jesus Lightning
Operation Godly Thunder
Operation He Has Risen, You Will Fall
Operation Crusading Cruise Missiles of Christ
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Ice4Clark Donating Member (466 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Apr-02-06 03:28 PM
Response to Original message
24. I suppose it can make it to our coast in 45 mins and produce
a mushroom cloud. Iraq repeat anyone?

The media is working overtime building up a conflict with Iran, just like Iraq. Who do we have asking the tough questions? Helen where are you?
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