Iran's Missile Inventory for Naval Warfare as the Strait of Hormuz Closes

Tehran — The war between Iran and the United States (US) and Israel has entered its fifth day as of Wednesday, 4 March 2026, with Iran having launched 17 waves of missile and drone strikes at various points across the Middle East and Israel. Not only has Iran fired missiles and drones, it has also closed the Strait of Hormuz, the strait that serves as the transit route for about a fifth of global oil trade. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz marks the opening of potential escalation in the Persian Gulf between Iran and the US Navy, including the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln. According to a recent India Today report, Iran possesses an inventory of missiles of diverse types that could be used in naval warfare. Here is the explanation. Hypersonic missiles The deadliest weapon Iran could deploy in a naval war against the US is the Fattah missile, classified in the hypersonic category. Developed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the Fattah-1 was first unveiled in June 2023. According to the Associated Press, Fattah-1 is a medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM) with a range of up to 1,400 kilometres and speeds of Mach 13–15. Fattah-1 is propelled by a solid-fuel booster and is claimed to be able to manoeuvre to evade enemy anti-missile defences as it hurtles toward its target at high speed. IRGC subsequently in November 2023 released Fattah-2, the latest generation of the earlier hypersonic missile, which analysts say is designed with a hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV). Missiles with HGV technology allow the warhead to manoeuvre using aerodynamic design to travel along an unpredictable trajectory, making them harder to intercept by anti-missile systems. To date, it is not known how many Fattah missiles Iran possesses. However, according to The New York Times, several Fattah missiles have been used alongside 180 to 200 ballistic missiles when Iran launched attacks on Israel on 1 October 2024, as part of Operasi Janji Setia 2. A poster photo provided by Iran’s official website for the IRGC (SEPAHNEWS) shows the Fattah (hypersonic) missiles made in Iran during an opening ceremony in Tehran, Iran, on Tuesday (6 June 2023). According to IRGC, Iran has developed a hypersonic missile capable of travelling at 15 times the speed of sound over a range of 1,400 km. - (EPA-EFE/SEPAH NEWS