Noor cruise missile: Iran’s Strategic Arm in Naval Warfare

Pars Today — With high accuracy, variable range, and effective destructive power, the Noor cruise missile plays a significant role in strengthening Iran’s naval defense capabilities.

The Noor cruise missile is one of Iran’s most important and effective anti-ship missiles, developed based on the Chinese C‑802 missile, and is regarded as one of the world’s top anti-ship missiles. According to Pars Today, the missile joined Iran’s naval forces in the 1990s, entered mass production in 2001, and in 2006, an upgraded version was successfully tested during the Great Prophet (PBUH) military exercise.

Its high precision, destructive power, suitable speed, and ability to penetrate air defense systems have made the Noor missile a strategic weapon in naval combat.

Types of the Noor missile

Over time, the Noor cruise missile has been upgraded into several variants by Iran’s defense specialists. Below is an overview of this evolution:

• Original Noor: The initial reverse‑engineered version with a range of 30 km (19 miles).
• Noor Phase 2: An improved version with a range of 130 km (81 miles).
• Noor Phase 3: Further extended range up to 170 km (110 miles).
• Upgraded version known as the Qader missile: Range increased to 300 km (190 miles).
• Export version of Noor: Model A with a range of 120 km (75 miles).

In terms of technical specifications, the Noor missile is 6.39 meters long, of which 1.24 meters are allocated to the booster motor. It has a diameter of 36 centimeters and a total weight of 715 kilograms.

The warhead weighs 165 kilograms and is a high‑explosive type with the capability to penetrate ship armor, equipped with a delayed-action fuse.

The missile travels at a speed of Mach 0.9, or about 1,100 kilometers per hour (300 meters per second), and flies at an altitude of 20 to 30 meters above sea level. In the terminal phase, its altitude is reduced to 5 to 7 meters.

The missile’s guidance system is based on inertial navigation combined with an onboard active radar seeker. It is powered by a Tolou‑4 turbojet engine using liquid fuel, which is considered an upgraded version of the French Microturbo TRI 60 engine.

The missile can be launched from aircraft, surface vessels, submarines, and ground‑based mobile launchers.

In operational performance, the missile is initially accelerated by a solid‑fuel booster, and after booster separation, the turbojet engine is activated. The missile is guided using an autopilot and a radio altimeter, and in the terminal phase it switches to radar guidance. Its probability of hit is estimated at 98 percent.

The Noor missile is deployed by Tondar and Sina missile boats, Bayandor‑class corvettes, Alvand‑ and Jamaran‑class destroyers, BH‑7 hovercraft, Mi‑17 helicopters, and F‑4 Phantom aircraft, playing a significant role in enhancing Iran’s naval and air combat capabilities.