What Are Fateh-110 Missiles? Russia Eyes Iran's Answer to ATACMS

Russia could be set to purchase Iranian-made missiles later this month as Tehran and Moscow consolidate their increasingly close relationship in the midst of the war in Ukraine.

Senior Russian and Iranian military officials reviewed advanced Iranian weapons in both capital cities in August and September, and "may conclude a drone and missile sale agreement" in a few weeks' time, when current United Nations-imposed restrictions expire, the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War think tank said on Wednesday.

U.N. missile restrictions expire on October 18, meaning Russia could buy Iranian-made missiles from Tehran in just a few weeks time.

One option perhaps available to the Kremlin could be the Fateh-110 short-range ballistic missile, as well as other Tehran-designed longer-range missiles developed over the past few decades.

The Fateh-110 started life as a "pretty inaccurate missile" in the late 1990s, but Iran developed new, improved versions in the years that followed, according to Fabian Hinz, research fellow for defense and military analysis at the International Institute for Strategic Studies think tank.

The Fateh-110 is a missile that showcases Iran's approach to missile development, he told Newsweek. Tehran builds up its capabilities "very gradually" to make each generation of missiles based on the initial Fateh-110 more effective and accurate, Hinz said.

The most modern Fateh-110 iterations are now "very, very good" precision-guided missiles, Hinz said. It has become a very versatile, effective and easy to use system, he said, adding it is "probably Iran's main solid-propellant missile design."

The Fateh-110 is a short-range solid-propellant ballistic missile, able to carry a payload of up to 500 kilograms, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies. It is "most likely intended to deliver a high explosive, chemical, or submunitions warhead," and it is thought to be nuclear-capable, the think tank said.

Some versions have a range of up to 500 kilometers, or 300 miles. This puts them on a par with the U.S. military's Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS), or the German-made Taurus long-range cruise missile. Although U.S. President Joe Biden has indicated to Kyiv that Washington will provide ATACMS to Ukraine, no further details have been confirmed.

The Fateh missiles with a 300-mile range are "broadly comparable" with ATACMS, Hinz said. They both use similar navigation, although the Fateh is larger and heavier and the ATACMS are likely to be more accurate and reliable but more expensive, Hinz argued.

For Russia, additional, relatively cheap missiles may prove useful for its grueling war effort in Ukraine. Russia has launched almost-nightly missile attacks on Ukrainian territory for months, often firing several different types of missiles within hours of one another.

Although analysts have suggested that Russia is not going to run out of missiles despite depleting its stockpiles, the cost of launching missile barrages adds up when they are continuously used. Moscow will very likely want to keep a certain number in reserve away from Ukraine, for use in the unlikely event of a wider confrontation with NATO, Hinz said.

Cruise and ballistic missiles can only be used once, "and if you want to use them for all the strike missions you need to do, it becomes very expensive" and requires huge numbers of missiles, Hinz added. "Just getting additional missiles would be really useful for the Russians," he said.

Many of Russia's options for targeting Ukraine come with a hefty price tag. Domestically-made cruise missiles, like the Kalibr or Kh-101 and Kh-555 may cost up to $1.7 million each, Fabian Hoffmann, a doctoral research fellow at the University of Oslo, Norway, told Newsweek in August. The cost of a Kh-101 is likely around $1.2 million, Ian Williams, deputy director of the CSIS's Missile Defense Project, previously said.

Estimates of cost for Iranian-made Shahed suicide drones vary from $20,000 to $50,000, according to Williams and Hoffmann. "The higher value is the more likely one," Hoffmann said.

But a Fateh-110 would strike Ukrainian targets at far higher speed with a much higher payload than a Shahed kamikaze drone, Hinz said.

"These missiles could cause much more destruction compared to Iranian suicide drones," he said, if Russia has the intelligence networks in place to effectively execute the strikes.

Fateh-110 missiles would also be far more difficult for Ukraine to intercept than the slow-flying Shaheds, Hinz added.

The distinctive-sounding Shaheds, now familiar to many Ukrainian city-dwellers, slowly approach their targets and are relatively easy for Ukraine to shoot down with anti-aircraft guns—provided they can spot them in time.

U.S.-made Patriot air defense systems would be able to intercept the missiles, but it is impossible to protect every potential Ukrainian target, Hinz argued. Iran designed the Fateh-110 with the Patriot in mind, he added.

Although it is not yet clear what Iran would be willing to sell to Russia, many of its missiles – such as the Fateh-110, longer-range Fateh-313 and the Zolfaghar missile with a 435-mile range – have export designations. This could indicate that Iran is willing to offer them up to Russia, Hinz said.

In September, Russia's Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu was seen inspecting a range of high-tech Iranian weaponry, including missiles, during a visit to Iran.

"The pressure of sanctions on Russia and Iran is proving to be futile, while Russia-Iran cooperation is reaching new highs," Shoigu said during a meeting with Iranian Defense Minister Mohammad-Reza Ashtiani, according to Russian state news agency Tass.

"The high intensity of meetings confirms our common determination to continue boosting strategic defense partnership," Shoigu added.

Newsweek has reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry and Iranian Foreign Ministry for comment via email.