Raad-500 (missile)

Raad-500 missile (Persian: موشک رعد ۵۰۰) is an Iranian SRBM /Tactical ballistic missile which is equipped with a progressive composite engine that is dubbed as "Zohair (Persian: زهیر)". Raad-500 means "Thunder 500", and it has been designed by half --weight-- in comparison with the previous Iranian missile (Fateh-110) whose body was made from metal; whereas the range of this new Iranian ballistic missile increased two hundred kilometers more than Fateh-110), and its final range is 500 kilometers.

The Raad-500, is significantly shorter than its predecessor (7.61m compared to 8.86m) yet can reportedly reach 500 km. Its warhead is smaller but still powerful, and designed to separate in the early midcourse phase, making it more difficult to detect, track, and intercept than unibody missiles like the Fateh-110, or those with warheads that separate in the terminal phase.

Engine
This ballistic missile possesses an engine which has been made of carbon fiber composites, and makes the engine shield able to bear pressures up to one hundred bars.

Unveiling
Raad-500 missile was unveiled on 9 February 2020 in Tehran by the attendance of IRGC's Chief Commander Major General Hossein Salami, and likewise Brigadier General Amir-Ali Hajizadeh, commander of Aerospace Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.