Iran has claimed that it had created a hypersonic missile capable of travelling at 15 times the speed of sound.
Key points
- Iran’s state television reported that the missile — called Fattah-had a range of up to 1,400 kilometers. The report also claimed the missile could pass through any regional missile defense system.
- Hypersonic weapons, which fly at speeds in excess of Mach 5, or five times the speed of sound, could pose crucial challenges to missile defense systems because of their speed and manoeuvrability.
- So far, Russia and China have displayed an array of hypersonic weapons, with Moscow being the only one thought to have tested them in combat.
- The United States has also tested hypersonic missiles but lags slightly behind its two rivals.
