Iran’s mobile missile launchers: US releases video of precision strikes; how these weapons work

The United States Central Command (CENTCOM) has released a video showing precision strikes on Iranian mobile missile launchers.

The footage shows truck-mounted missile launch vehicles positioned in open terrain before they are hit by precision munitions. Moments later, bright flashes and explosions engulf the vehicles, with smoke rising from the strike sites as the launch systems are destroyed.



US officials said the strikes targeted Iran’s mobile ballistic missile launchers, which are designed to fire missiles and then quickly relocate to avoid detection.

Iran’s mobile missile launchers: Key things to know

• Iran deploys many of its ballistic missiles on road-mobile transporter-erector-launchers (TELs), large military trucks built to carry, raise and fire missiles.
• Unlike fixed launch pads or underground silos, these systems can move between locations and launch missiles from different sites, making them far more difficult to track and destroy.
• Their mobility allows Iran to disperse launchers across the country, increasing their chances of surviving air strikes and ensuring Tehran retains the ability to launch retaliatory attacks.
• These mobile platforms can deploy a range of Iranian ballistic missiles, including Fateh-110 and Zolfaghar, which are capable of striking targets hundreds of kilometres away.
• Iran is widely believed to possess the largest ballistic missile arsenal in the Middle East, with several systems capable of reaching targets up to around 2,000 kilometres away.
• In some cases, the launchers can also be camouflaged or disguised as civilian trucks, allowing them to blend into normal traffic and making them harder to detect through aerial surveillance.