Rockets can also deliver naval mines and torpedoes.

New rocket abilities make them more dangerous. Iran uses rockets to deliver sea mines. That is the new threat to navies. The rocket-delivered sea mines are as dangerous as other sea mines. And that concerns the military. The mines that rockets deliver are regular horn and antenna mines. The rocket delivers the mine into the sea. There. An anchor turns it into the right position. That type of system can close sea routes from long distances. 

Iran lacks long-range missiles. But. It’s possible to deliver sea mines using intercontinental ballistic missiles. The sea mines that use thermonuclear bombs are as dangerous as the Russian Poseidon torpedo. In the 1980s, military experts introduced a scenario in which hostile forces could hide nuclear mines near the coastline. And if there were some conflict. Those mines could be detonated. By using sonar signals. There was suspicion. That. The Soviet Spetsnaz troops practiced this kind of operation. 

RUR-5 ASROC

When the Soviet Whiskey-class submarine S-363 (U137) ran aground near a major Swedish naval base in 1981. Researchers. They were suspicious. About whether the Whiskey-class submarine carried a miniature submarine. A miniature submarine. Could have a shelf below its nose. The flat, saucer-shaped nuclear detonator could be carried on that shelf. And robot arms could push it away. 

That means that the Whiskey could get a similar ability with an India-class submarine. That submarine carried two midget submarines. So the Soviets could plan a similar ability to Whiskey, or a “Juliett”-class diesel-electric cruise missile submarine. In that case, the missile boxes of the Juliets are removed. And the midget submarine would be docked. 

Russian midget submarine

S-363 (U137) on rocks. 

Tracks on the bottom of the sea. Told Sedish intelligence that Soviet miniature submarines operated in the Baltic Sea. But did they operate from Paldiski naval base? 

But. Could the soviets have nuclear bombs that those miniature subs could deliver? Today, those systems. They are more advanced. And more dangerous. 

Soviet-era retired “India”-class rescue submarine. Even if those DSRV subs are officially rescue subs. They can carry nuclear detonators. 

Modern nuclear-powered versions. Like “Kashalot” (NATO: "Uniform")-class submarines. They are more sophisticated.  

The detonator would be quite similar to “Greenhouse George” from the 1950s. If. Those nuclear mines detonated near the Swedish coast. They could raise tsunamis. But it is also possible that larger 50 mt. nuclear sea mines could be delivered using the SS-18 missiles. Those mines. Could wait at the bottom of the ocean. And detonate when they get orders. 

Another threat is torpedoes that can also be delivered using rockets or missiles. Regular RUR-5 ASROC systems carry conventional or nuclear torpedoes or depth charges. But it’s possible to create ground-based long-range missiles. These can carry anti-submarine (ASW) torpedoes. 

The carrier system. It can be the SCUD. Or some more advanced missiles. This kind of torpedo. It can be dangerous. To submarines over 1500 kilometers from the coastline. 

If. The anti-submarine torpedo is mounted on the Iranian MRBM missiles. But Russians certainly have missiles with this kind of capacity. Long-range missiles. That carry ASW torpedoes.  Or drones can be the next step in maritime missions. The only problem with those weapons is: how to find targeted submarines. 

https://www.twz.com/sea/iranian-launchers-struck-by-u-s-held-exotic-and-highly-concerning-rocket-delivered-sea-mines

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballistic_missile_program_of_Iran

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenhouse_George

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juliett-class_submarine

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kashalot-class_submarine

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poseidon_(unmanned_underwater_vehicle)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RUR-5_ASROC

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_submarine_S-363

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swedish_submarine_incidents

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whiskey-class_submarine

The Zircon missile could be more conventional than researchers thought.

The 3M22 Zircon missile could be an atmospheric hypersonic missile. But it will not be a hypersonic cruise missile. 

Russian 3M22 Zircon missile can be impressive, but it’s less impressive than Russia claimed. Rumors say that the Russian Zircon missile uses an air-breathing ramjet engine. That two-stage missile has speed. 

It will be about Mach 9. The speed of this missile is impressive. But there is no visible sign of an air intake on that missile body. That suggests. The Zircon is probably regular. A two-stage missile that uses two solid-fuel rocket engines. This gives it a higher altitude than a regular cruise missile. The Zircon’s flight altitude is about 30- 50 kilometers. This makes that system a so-called quasi-missile. That missile has a hypersonic speed. But the other technology is more conventional. There is a possibility. 

An improved version of the Iskander missile could be the Zircon. 

Zircon could be a horizontally flying missile. This means the missile follows a horizontal trajectory in the atmosphere. The difference is that the Zircon uses a rocket engine. A cruise missile uses a jet engine. So. We could call the Zircon an atmospheric missile. Or a hypersonic missile that uses a conventional rocket engine. 

“A Kh-47M2 Kinzhal being carried by a Mikoyan MiG-31K interceptor” (Wikipedia, Kh-47M2 Kinzhal)

9K720 Iskander. 

The codename of that missile is 9M723-2 or “Iskander 1000”. The missile is a so-called quasi-ballistic missile. 

Another possibility is that. Russians put new hope in the land-launched, ground-attack version of the Zircon missile. 

Russian media said. An improved version of the 9K720 Iskander missile will enter service. This winter.  And that will give more strike capacity. For. Russian troops. Could that new missile concept be Zircon? Or rather, saying. Ground-launched version of the Zircon missile. When we compare Zircon with the Iskander and Kinzhal.

Could the Zircon missile be the ground-launched version of the Kinzhal? 

The Kinzhal is a hypersonic atmospheric missile. Kinzhal missile reaches only hypersonic speed. It is launched from a MiG-31 aircraft. Maybe the Russians replaced the MiG-31 interceptors with a solid-fuel rocket stage. And that could raise the speed of that missile to Mach 9. If the Russians just replaced the launching aircraft with a solid-fuel rocket. That makes it possible to launch those missiles from ships, trains, and road-mobile platforms. That makes it harder. 

To find those missiles. The system can increase the strike capacity of the Russian systems. 

https://defencesecurityasia.com/en/russia-iskander-1000-9m723-2-missile-combat-debut-ukraine-nato/

https://luftlage.substack.com/p/not-quite-a-diamond

https://www.twz.com/sea/russias-zircon-may-not-be-a-hypersonic-cruise-missile-after-all

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9K720_Iskander

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3M22_Zircon

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kh-47M2_Kinzhal