The Raad (Persian: رعد, 'thunder') or RAAD is an Iranian wire-guided anti-tank guided missile based on the Soviet 9M14M Malyutka (AT-3b Sagger) missile.[4][5] The Raad began mass production in 1988 and was publicly unveiled in 1997. It is manufactured by Parchin Missile Industries, a subsidiary of Iran's Defense Industries Organization.[6]
The Raad family comes in four variants: the base RAAD missile, a clone of the 9M14M Malyutka-M (AT-3b Sagger); the I-RAAD, with SACLOS guidance, the RAAD-T, with a tandem warhead, and the I-RAAD-T, with both a tandem warhead and SACLOS guidance.
RAAD means thunder in Persian. It is not an acronym and many sources do not capitalize the name.
During the Iran-Iraq War, Iran had an acute need for anti-tank missiles, necessitating the country to buy AT-3 Sagger missiles.[4] Iran also acquired the HJ-73, the Chinese version of the Sagger.[7]
Indigenous manufacturing work began in the tail end of the war[8] and mass production began in 1998,[9] with the Raad being the first anti-tank guided weapon to be built by Iran.[4] The RAAD was obtained with Russian assistance.[10]
The weapon was unveiled on April 30, 1997.[11] The RAAD has almost identical components with 9M14 Malyutka, from the battery to the guidance unit.[12]
According to SIPRI, 1500 RAAD/Sagger missiles were built or imported by Iran between 1996 and 2001[13] and 2,250 from 1996 to 2004.[14]
As of 2015, 4,500 RAADs were made in Iran.[2]
Iran supplied Hezbollah with the Raad in the early 2000s and Hezbollah used Raad missiles in the 2006 Lebanon War.[15] Israel captured ten baseline RAAD missiles on the Karine A in January 2002.[16]
The Raad has been used in the Syrian Civil War by Hezbollah fighters, and the Syrian Army.[17] I-RAAD missiles have been used by ISIL fighters in Iraq.[18]
On October 7, 2023, Al-Quds Brigades militants used a RAAD-T during the raid on Israel from Gaza.[19]
The RAAD is an identical copy of the Russian 9M14M Malyutka-M (NATO AT-3b "Sagger").[4]
The first improvement of the RAAD missile, the RAAD-T has a tandem warhead to defeat explosive Reactive Armor.[20] However, the RAAD-T still uses the obsolete MCLOS guidance of the original RAAD.[8] According to its export material, the RAAD-T has improved maneuverability over the base RAAD[3] and has 400 mm RHA penetration after reactive armor.[21]
For Improved RAAD, the I-RAAD has a different launcher with a tripod-mounted SACLOS guidance system that makes the missile much easier to aim.[4] The specific SACLOS method is a TV differential tracker.[4] The guidance unit is similar to that of the Chinese HJ-73 system,[4] and possibly the HJ-73C model in particular. First seen in 1998.[12] RAAD missiles can be used by I-RAAD launchers.[4]
It's used to defeat ERA armor.[22]
The I-RAAD-T system combines the tandem-warhead of the RAAD-T missile with the SACLOS guidance system of the I-RAAD launcher.[4] RAAD and I-RAAD missiles can be retrofitted to the I-RAAD-T standard.[3] The I-RAAD-T also includes a simulator that allows operators to be trained on the system without actually firing a missile.[4] 400 mm RHA penetration after reactive armor.[3]
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