One Iranian cluster missile disperses 80 submunitions over Israel's skies

The war between Iran and Israel has entered a new phase after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) confirmed the use of ballistic missiles with cluster warheads in an attack on Tel Aviv’s city centre, not long ago. The weapon was deployed on a mass scale for the first time to maximise damage in the occupied area. NDTV reported that Iran used the Kheibar Shekan (Fort Destroyer) missile system, a third-generation advanced weapon that has been operational since 2022. The missile carries a warhead capable of manoeuvring and releasing around 20 to 80 submunitions at an altitude of about 7 kilometres above the ground. Unlike conventional missiles that explode at a single point, the Kheibar Shekan cluster warhead bursts in the air, dispersing small bombs within a radius of up to 8 kilometres. Each submunition carries about 2.5 kg to 7 kg of explosive—comparable to the destructive power of short-range rockets used by Hamas or Hizbollah. The missile has a range of up to 1,450 kilometres and can manoeuvre in the terminal phase to evade air defences such as Patriot or Iron Dome. As of this report, the latest strike in central Israel is reported to have injured at least 12 people. One of the submunitions struck a house in the town of Azor, south of Tel Aviv, causing significant structural damage. NBC News data says that since the US-Israel aggression began on February 28, Iranian missile strikes have killed at least 11 people in Israel and wounded more than 1,000 others. There are growing concerns about the dud rate ( bombs that fail to explode on impact ), which effectively becomes landmines endangering civilians and rescue teams in the long term.