Project Koussar
Project Koussar, also known as Project Kowsar, is an alleged intermediate range or intercontinental ballistic missile program of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Overview[]
The program is allegedly an IRBM with a range of 4,000 to 5,000 km.[1]
The book Iran's Military Forces and Warfighting Capabilities by Anthony H. Cordesman and Martin Kleiber mentions Project Koussar in its description of the Shahab-5 and Shahab-6 missile projects, which also are allegedly based on the RD-216 engine. According to the book, "the effort to develop an ICBM with the Russian RD-216 engine in some sources has been named 'Project Koussar.' There reports [about the missile projects] remain uncertain, and Israeli media and official sources have repeatedly exaggerated the nature and speed of Iranian efforts."[2]
The book Tehran Rising by Ilan Berman also mentions the missile project. According to the book, "Opposition groups have charged that Iran's overt missile development masks a much larger clandestine endeavor - one that encompasses both the 4,000-kilometer range Shahab-5 and even a follow in intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) known as the 'Kowsar'. This assessment rings true; according to U.S. intelligence officials, Iran is now estimated to have made sufficient headway to allow for testing of ICBM components in 2005."[3][4]
An article published by the RIA Novosti news agency in March, 2009, states, that some unnamed Western and Russian sources claim that Iran may be currently running a program dubbed Project Koussar to develop an IRBM. According to Major General , head of the Moscow-based Center for Strategic Nuclear Forces, quoted by the RIA Novosti article, "Iran is actively working on a missile development program. I won't say the Iranians will be able to develop intercontinental ballistic missiles in the near future, but they will most likely be able to threaten the whole of Europe."[1]
References[]
- ^ a b Iran missile, nuclear threat 'real, dangerous' - Russian analyst RIA Novosti, 2009-03-12
- ^ Cordesman, Kleiber: Iran's Military Forces and Warfighting Capabilities Greenwood Publishing Group, 2007
- ^ Ilan Berman: Tehran Rising Rowman & Littlefield, 2007
- ^ Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, December 2002, pages 84-88
- Weapons of Iran
- Military equipment of Iran
- Ballistic missiles of Iran