Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) early this morning launched two rounds of missile attacks on Iraq’s Ain al-Asad and Irbil bases, where American forces are stationed.

A pair of Iranian missiles attacked the US base

A projectile crashed into the Ain al-Asad base early this morning.

Iranian media said the IRGC used Fateh-110 short-range ballistic missiles for the raid on the Ain al-Asad base, while images of the scene in Irbil showed fragments of what appeared to be Qiam-1 missiles.

Fateh-110 is a short-range ballistic missile using solid fuel, the first variant has been in service since 2002 and has been continuously upgraded until now.

The Fateh-110 uses three different types of ammunition carrier-launcher (TEL), with the latest variant able to carry two projectiles per vehicle.

Fateh-110 missile test launched in 2010. Photo: Iranian Ministry of Defense.

Iran in 2016 launched the latest variant of the Fateh line called Zolfaghar.

Tehran in August 2019 also tested a ship-killing variant called Fateh-110 Mod 3. The projectile has an inertial navigation system and an electro-optical probe to capture warships when diving.

Qiam-1 is a short-range ballistic missile using liquid fuel, developed by Iran from the Shahab-2 series and applying the design of North Korea’s Hwasong-6 missile.

Each projectile is 11.5 m long, 0.9 m in diameter and weighs more than 6 tons.

Qiam-1 missile was test-launched by Iran in 2015. Photo: ISNA.

Iran removed some of the rudders on the original North Korean Hwasong-6 missile when developing the Qiam-1, to reduce the radar reflection area and mass of the projectile.

The missile also uses a separate warhead design, allowing the burned-out body to be removed, avoiding affecting the flight path when reentering the atmosphere and increasing accuracy.

IRGC owns a huge missile arsenal that can cover many targets including US military bases and cities and major industrial centers of Washington’s ally in the Middle East.

Iran’s missile array can cover the entire Middle East.