Iran's Weapons That Broke Through Israel's Iron Dome: MIRV Warhead and Fattah Missile

Iran used a ballistic missile equipped with a hypersonic glide vehicle and a multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle (MIRV) warhead against Israel for the first time, Military Watch Magazine said.

Following the outbreak of open hostilities with Israel on June 13, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) began launching increasingly powerful missile strikes at a range of Israeli targets. Over the course of 11 days, both sides intensified their attacks on each other's military assets and critical infrastructure.

On June 23, during the 21st wave of Iranian strikes, the IRGC deployed a ballistic missile with multiple warheads for the first time in combat against Israel-marking a significant escalation in the conflict. Just days earlier, on June 18, Iran's Fattah ballistic missile, armed with a hypersonic glide vehicle, was used in combat conditions for the first time. Traveling at speeds of Mach 13-15, the Fattah is nearly impossible to intercept using conventional air defense systems, posing a major challenge to Israel's missile shield. However, missiles equipped with multiple warheads present an even greater strategic threat: they can strike several targets with a single launch and rapidly deplete the limited resources of Israel's air defense systems.

The only known Iranian ballistic missile capable of carrying MIRV payloads is the Kheibar Shekan. Though based on an older design and requiring extended preparation time, the missile's heavy payload capacity enables it to carry multiple warheads. While it remains unconfirmed whether the warheads are independently guided, Iranian sources claim each is equipped with a precision guidance system. These missiles have reportedly been used to strike high-value targets, including Ben Gurion International Airport, a major biological research facility, and several Israeli command centers.

Despite strict media censorship in Israel, released video footage of missile strikes appears to confirm the high accuracy of recent Iranian attacks suggesting that even MIRV-equipped missiles may be hitting their marks with significant precision. While MIRV systems have been standard on intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) since the 1970s, their use on medium-range missiles remains rare. As China, Russia, and North Korea continue to refine their medium- and intermediate-range arsenals, Iran's combat deployment of the Kheibar Shekan is likely to draw serious attention from global military observers.

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Iron Dome (Hebrew: כִּפַּת בַּרְזֶל, romanized: Kippat Barzel) is an Israeli mobile all-weather air defense system, developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries. The system is designed to intercept and destroy short-range rockets and artillery shells fired from distances of 4 to 70 kilometres (2–43 mi) away and whose trajectory would take them to an Israeli populated area. From 2011 to 2021, the United States contributed a total of US$1.6 billion to the Iron Dome defense system, with another US$1 billion approved by the US Congress in 2022.