00:20Last night, Iran fired ballistic missiles directly at northern Israel.
00:26Not drones, not rockets. Ballistic missiles, including one traveling at Mach 9 on the way down.
00:34That's nine times the speed of sound, and it's specifically designed so that Israel's best defense systems struggle to stop
00:42it.
00:42On the night of June 7, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the IRGC, launched multiple waves of ballistic missiles at
00:52targets in northern Israel,
00:53including the Ramat David Air Base.
00:57This is the first direct Iranian strike since the ceasefire agreed in April 2026.
01:03The IRGC called it a warning, a calculated response to Israeli airstrikes in Beirut's southern suburbs amid ongoing operations in
01:13Lebanon.
01:14Air raid sirens blared across northern Israel.
01:17Arrow interceptors were fired. Most, possibly all, of the incoming missiles were intercepted.
01:23No significant casualties have been reported in the initial strikes.
01:27But the weapon Iran chose to use, that's the story.
01:32The star of last night's attack, and the one that has defense analysts paying close attention, is the Hebar Shekhan.
01:39The name translates to castle breaker.
01:42Iran named it after a 7th century battle.
01:45They clearly want you to know what they think it can do.
01:49Here's what makes it different from Iran's older missiles.
01:52First, it runs on solid fuel.
01:55Older Iranian ballistic missiles use liquid propellant.
01:59Second, it maneuvers on the way down.
02:01The Hebar Shekhan has what's called a maneuverable re-entry vehicle, a MARV.
02:07Third, the speed.
02:09Iranian state media claims it hits Mach 9 during the dive phase.
02:13That's roughly 11,000 kilometers per hour.
02:17Iran didn't just fire Hebar Shekhan's.
02:20Reports indicate they used a mix, including the Imad and the Khadr-F.
02:25The Imad is older, liquid-fueled, derived from the Shahab-3.
02:30But it has longer range, up to around 1,700 kilometers, and carries a maneuverable warhead designed for precision targeting.
02:39The Khadr-F is a further development with extended range and payload options.
02:44Israel's Aero-3 system is purpose-built to intercept ballistic missiles outside the atmosphere, in the exo-atmospheric phase, before
02:53re-entry.
02:54That's where it has the best chance.
02:56Against a Hebar Shekhan, the window gets tighter.
03:00Last night, Israel's defense systems appear to have performed well, but most intercepted is different from all intercepted.
03:08And Iran fired this as a warning, not a maximum effort strike.
03:13But what happens when Iran fires more of these, from multiple directions, with even shorter warning time?
03:19This attack fits a pattern Iran has been building toward for years.
03:24The Hebar Shekhan reaching Mach 9 on the way down isn't an empty claim from state media.
03:29It's a design choice, built specifically to shrink the window for systems like Aero and Thad.
03:35Whether it gets through or not depends on numbers, angles, timing, and a lot of classified capabilities on both sides.
03:43But Iran just showed its hand, and the world is watching.
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