DESCRIPTION
The Shahab-3 (Meteor , Shooting Star) is an Iranian medium-range ballistic missile derived from the original design of the North Korean No-dong . Iran is believed to have received extensive help in designing the missile from North Korea. Russia may also have given assistance, allowing the Shah ab-3 to attain greater range and accuracy. It is also called the Zelzal-3 (Earthquake).
The Shahab-3 is a legacy of Iranian financial assistance to North Korea, which combined Soviet technical information with Chinese contributions to produce the No-dong . In exchange, Iran received the results and began to work on the Shahab-3. Iran reportedly received a dozen No-dong missiles from No rth Korea by 1996 as the basis for the program.
As with the No-dong , the Shahab-3 is believed to use steel tankage, an improved Isayev engine and a lengthened cylinder for greater fuel capacity. It is a single-stage liquid-propelled rocket and capable of carrying a convention or chemical weapon-capable warhead. It could also conceivably carry a nuclear warhead, though there is no confirmation of the existence of any nuclear warheads in Iran.
The rocket uses a fuel mixture of 20 percent gasoline and 80 percent kerosene, with an oxidizer consisting of 27 percent dinotrogen tetroxide and 72 percent nitric acid with an imodium inhibitor. It is designed for launch from a specially designed cross-country transporter-erector-launcher (TEL). I ran is developing its own TEL based on a Mercedes Benz vehicle, though it may only be an adaptation of the North Korean launch vehicle design onto a new chassis.
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