Reference / Threat Analysis

Understanding the Remarkable Physics of the Iranian Threat

News reports describe Iranian attacks as involving “a number of missiles.” The numbers alone do not convey the physical reality of what these weapons are. Below, every missile is shown to scale against everyday objects so you can see, feel, and understand what Israel and its allies are defending against.
AI-generated content for informational purposes only. Specifications are drawn from open-source reporting (CSIS, IISS, MDAA). Data should be independently verified.
How Fast Are They?

An Airbus A380 — one of the fastest commercial aircraft — cruises at Mach 0.85 (945 km/h). Iran's ballistic missiles travel 10 to 18 times faster. The chart below shows how far each weapon travels in exactly one second.

Why this matters: At Mach 15, a missile covers the entire 1,000 km from western Iran to Tel Aviv in roughly 5 minutes. A human nerve impulse travels at about 120 m/s — the Fattah-2 is 42 times faster than your own nervous system.
Distance covered in one second (km) — plane icon = Airbus A380 for reference
In the time it takes you to blink, the Fattah-2 has travelled 5.1 kilometres. The A380 — travelling at 945 km/h — covers just 263 metres in the same second.
Commercial jet (reference)
Ballistic missile
Hypersonic
Cruise missile
Drone / UAV
One-Second Race — watch 1 real second unfold in slow motion
0.000s
elapsed (simulated)
Each lane shows how far the weapon has travelled. At 10× slower, 1 second of flight takes 10 real seconds to watch.
How Tall Are They?

These are not small projectiles. Iran's MRBMs are taller than a three-storey building. The Sejjil stands 18 metres tall — the height of a six-storey apartment block. Each bar below is drawn to scale.

Missile / drone length to scale — benchmark: 3-storey building (~10 m)
3.0 m
3.5 m
8.0 m
10 m
11.4 m
11.5 m
12.0 m
16.0 m
16.0 m
16.0 m
18.0 m
Shahed-131
Shahed-136
Paveh
3-storey building
Kheibar Shekan
Fattah-1
Fattah-2
Emad
Ghadr
Khorramshahr-4
Sejjil
The Sejjil is taller than a six-storey building. Even the “compact” Kheibar Shekan — specifically designed to be concealable — is still taller than three storeys.
3-storey building (10 m)
Ballistic missile
Cruise missile
Drone / UAV
How Heavy Are They?

An adult African elephant weighs approximately 6,000 kg. The Sejjil — Iran's heaviest deployed ballistic missile — weighs nearly four elephants. Even a single Emad, at 17 tonnes, is approaching three.

Launch weight to scale — benchmark: African elephant (~6,000 kg)
200 kg
1,210 kg
4,300 kg
0.7x
5,400 kg
0.9x
6,000 kg
5,860 kg
1.0x
6,400 kg
1.1x
17,000 kg
2.8x
17,000 kg
2.8x
23,600 kg
3.9x
Shahed-136
Paveh
Fattah-1
Kheibar Shekan
Elephant
Shahab-1
Shahab-2
Emad
Ghadr
Sejjil
The multiplier shows how many elephants each missile weighs. The Sejjil, at 23.6 tonnes, weighs nearly four African elephants. These are being fired at a country the size of New Jersey — dozens at a time.
African elephant (6,000 kg)
Ballistic missile
Hypersonic
Cruise missile
Drone / UAV
How Long to Impact?

From launch in western Iran (~1,000 km) to impact in central Israel. Ballistic missiles arrive in under 6 minutes. Drones take hours. This is why the mixed-salvo strategy works: drones saturate defences while missiles exploit the narrow window.

Estimated flight time from western Iran to Tel Aviv
Fattah-2 (HGV)
~5 min
Sejjil (solid-fuel)
~5.5 min
Emad / Ghadr
~6 min
Paveh (cruise)
~60 min
Shahed-238 (jet)
~2 hrs
Shahed-136
~5.5 hrs
The ballistic missiles arrive before most people could walk to a shelter. The drones arrive hours later — but by then, interceptor missile stockpiles may already be depleted.
Warhead Destructive Payload

Each of these missiles carries hundreds of kilograms of high explosive. The Khorramshahr-4 carries a one-tonne warhead — comparable to an aerial bomb.

Warhead weight (explosive payload only, not launch weight)
15 kg
50 kg
200 kg
450 kg
500 kg
550 kg
700 kg
750 kg
750 kg
1,000 kg
Shahed-131
Shahed-136
Fattah-2
Paveh
Fattah-1
Kheibar Shekan
Sejjil
Emad
Ghadr
Khorramshahr-4
The Khorramshahr-4 carries one tonne of high explosive — the same class as a Mk 84 aerial bomb. Multiple of these are being fired simultaneously at Israeli cities.
Ballistic missile
Hypersonic
Cruise missile
Drone / UAV
Cluster Munitions Capability

Several Iranian missile systems can carry cluster warheads — warheads that disperse hundreds of submunitions over a wide area. Cluster munitions are designed to cause maximum casualties across open areas and are banned under international convention (which Iran has not signed).

Iranian missile systems: cluster warhead capability
System Type Cluster capable Warhead (kg) Notes
Fattah-1 MRBM (MaRV) CONFIRMED 500 Confirmed cluster warhead deployment in TP4. Submunitions dispersed over target area.
Zolfaghar SRBM CONFIRMED 590 Cluster warhead variant confirmed. Separating warhead complicates interception.
Fateh-110 / Fateh-313 SRBM ASSESSED 500 Same family as Zolfaghar; cluster warhead adaptation assessed as likely.
Khorramshahr-4 MRBM ASSESSED 1,000 Iran claims MIRV capability; cluster adaptation of 1-tonne warhead assessed.
Sejjil MRBM Unconfirmed 700 No confirmed cluster variant. Unitary warhead.
Emad MRBM Unconfirmed 750 Precision-guided unitary warhead. MaRV reentry.
Ghadr MRBM Unconfirmed 750 Unitary warhead. GPS/INS guided.
Kheibar Shekan MRBM Unconfirmed 550 MaRV terminal maneuver warhead. Unitary.
Why cluster munitions matter: A single missile with a cluster warhead can scatter hundreds of bomblets across an area the size of several football fields. Even if the missile is intercepted at lower altitude, submunitions may still be released. This is a weapon designed for one purpose: maximum civilian casualties.
Detailed Reference Pages
Ballistic Missiles
Arsenal specs, speed visual, escalation timeline
Cruise Missiles
Terrain-following profiles, detection challenges
Attack Drones & UAVs
Shahed family, cost-exchange analysis
Warheads & Payloads
Cluster munitions, explosive yields, damage analysis
Interactive Map
Click any wave to see weapons used and link to specs

AI-generated content for informational purposes only. Data should be independently verified. Specifications are drawn from open-source reporting and may not reflect classified assessments. Reference data current as of March 2026.