Iran State TV Releases Video of Ballistic Missile Launches on U.S. Targets in Iraq as Airliner Shoot-Down Story Breaks.

A screen capture shows preparation of an Iranian ballistic missile in an underground facility prior to the attack on U.S. facilities in Iraq. (Photo: Ruptly News via YouTube)

Exchange Begins as Competing Stories About Iranian Strikes and Airliner Shoot-Down Reach Media Outlets.

Iranian state television has released new video of preparations and launches of the missile strike on U.S. targets inside Iraq earlier this week. The video surfaced on Russia’s state-funded RT News network after reportedly circulating on Iranian media outlets. It shows preparation of what appears to be one of Iran’s “Shabab” series of surface-to-surface missiles.

The Shabab series of surface-to-surface missiles includes at least four distinct variants, Shabab 1 through 4. Each variant has a different range and payload capabilities. It is possible the version shown in the video is Iran’s Shabab-3, a ballistic missile with a claimed range of approximately 620 miles and a claimed payload in excess of 2,000 pounds according to Iranian claims.

The video shows the missiles in an underground storage facility at an undisclosed location. At least one missile is shown being removed from a storage container and being hoisted into the vertical orientation, possibly for fueling and programming of guidance systems.

The missile preparation video surfaced on Russian media as international news outlets such as the BBC World News, CBS, CNN and others are reporting what social media pundits already suspected: “CBS News has learned U.S. officials are confident that Iran shot down the Ukrainian passenger jet that crashed Wednesday in Tehran, killing all 176 on board”.

Detection of missile launch plumes by space-based U.S. reconnaissance assets called the Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS) can detect heat blooms of missile launches around the world and provide advanced early warning of missile launch events. As of January 2018, the U.S. has at least 10 satellites in orbit with SBIRS missile launch detection capability.

Earlier today, the New York Times published a story that said, “The SA-15 launch was detected by the American military’s Space-Based Infrared System, which relies on satellites in various orbits to track launch and flight path of ballistic missiles”.

It is now believed that an SA-15 “Tor” mobile surface-to-air missile system is responsible for the shoot-down of the civilian Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737 that crashed just after take-off from Iran’s Imam Khomeini airport in Tehran.



About Tom Demerly
Tom Demerly is a feature writer, journalist, photographer and editorialist who has written articles that are published around the world on TheAviationist.com, TACAIRNET.com, Outside magazine, Business Insider, We Are The Mighty, The Dearborn Press & Guide, National Interest, Russia’s government media outlet Sputnik, and many other publications. Demerly studied journalism at Henry Ford College in Dearborn, Michigan. Tom Demerly served in an intelligence gathering unit as a member of the U.S. Army and Michigan National Guard. His military experience includes being Honor Graduate from the U.S. Army Infantry School at Ft. Benning, Georgia (Cycle C-6-1) and as a Scout Observer in a reconnaissance unit, Company “F”, 425th INF (RANGER/AIRBORNE), Long Range Surveillance Unit (LRSU). Demerly is an experienced parachutist, holds advanced SCUBA certifications, has climbed the highest mountains on three continents and visited all seven continents and has flown several types of light aircraft.