Missile barrage on Israel: What were the 'hypersonic' weapons used by Iran?

Observers team

2 October 2024 at 1:33 pm·1-min read

On October 1, 2024, Israel faced one of the largest missile barrages in modern history. Iranian state media said the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched around 200 ballistic missiles of various types at Israeli targets, including so-called "hypersonic” missiles. Hypersonic missiles, already in use by Russia, China, the United States and other nations, represent a new generation of ballistic missiles that are more difficult to intercept and more destructive upon impact.

Dozens of videos rapidly shared on social media captured scenes of multiple missiles in the sky over Israel Tuesday night, some intercepted by Israel's highly regarded missile-defence system, others exploding on impact.

The FRANCE 24 Observers team has gathered video evidence of the strikes on various locations within Israel, featured in a separate report.

Since the attack, the term "hypersonic" has been widely used by IRGC supporters online and echoed by Iranian state media in reference to the missiles launched at Israel.

The October 1 barrage was the second major Iranian attack on Israel in just five months. On April 13, 2024, Iran launched hundreds of suicide drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles in what it described as retaliation for an Israeli strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus.

But has Iran truly acquired hypersonic ballistic missile technology, and were they capable of deploying it in this assault? What are the broader implications of such a capability?

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