Haj Qasem / Sejjil Ballistic Missile Family

Haj Qasem / Sejjil Ballistic Missile Family

Type: Ballistic Missile (ICBM)

Domain: land

Country of Origin: Iran

Manufacturer: Iranian Defense Industries

First Deployed: 2008

Overview

Iran's family of solid-fuel medium-range ballistic missiles providing rapid-reaction strategic strike capability. Sejjil (Persian for "baked clay") is a two-stage solid-fuel missile with a range of 2,000-2,500 km, capable of carrying a 650-1,000 kg warhead across the entire Middle East. The solid-fuel design provides significant operational advantages over liquid-fuel missiles including rapid launch (minutes vs hours), extended storage without maintenance, and resistance to detection during fueling. Features road-mobile TEL, separating warhead, and inertial guidance with GPS updates for improved accuracy (estimated CEP of 30-50 metres). Haj Qasem is a derived variant optimized for precision strike with potentially improved guidance and warhead. Both missiles have been operationally used: Iran fired Sejjil-variant missiles against ISIS targets in Syria (2017) and US bases in Iraq following the Soleimani assassination (2020), demonstrating accuracy within tens of metres. The Sejjil family forms the backbone of Iran's strategic deterrent alongside the Khorramshahr liquid-fuel missiles.

Technical Specifications

typeSolid-Fuel Medium-Range Ballistic Missile
range~2,000-2,500 km
stages2 (solid-fuel)
warheadConventional (~750 kg estimated)
guidanceINS
mobilityMobile TEL launchers
variantsHaj Qasem, Sejjil-2

Operators

Related land Weapon Systems