Our friends Robert Schmucker and Markus Schiller send along a short note on Iran’s Qiam missile, concluding that it is a test bed for a new guidance system that will eventually find its way in the Sejil.
The recent launch of Qiam 1 seems to raise some questions. We will try our best to fill at least some of the vacuum at technical missile analysis that was created with Geoff’s absence. So, let us try to shed some light on Iran’s new missile with a quick first and preliminary analysis.
As Josh pointed out, the lack of fins seems to be the most intriguing aspect of the Qiam 1. The pics of the missile’s aft section clearly indicate that it was originally fitted WITH fins, though. Since it makes no sense at all to develop a new missile WITH fins and remove them at first launch, this one could be a modification of an older, well known rocket.
