Exclusive: Iran Unveils Underground Missile Facility Housing Advanced Ballistic Systems.

On January 10, 2025, Iran unveiled a highly secretive underground missile facility, marking a significant milestone in its expanding ballistic missile capabilities. The unveiling, captured in a video released by Iranian media, featured a ceremony attended by key figures from the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), including Major General Hossein Salami, the IRGC Commander, and Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the head of the IRGC Aerospace Force. While only about 10% of the facility was revealed to the public, the video highlighted its strategic importance, showcasing Iran's growing missile capabilities and its commitment to enhancing its defense posture.
Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link

Screenshot from Iranian media showing the newly unveiled underground missile facility, housing advanced systems like the Emad, Qadr, and Qiam, showcasing Iran’s growing missile capabilities. Released on January 10, 2025. (Picture source: Iranian TV)

In the video footage, the underground base is shown to house some of Iran's most advanced liquid-fueled ballistic missiles, including the Emad, Qadr, and Qiam ballistic missile systems. Each of these missiles plays a crucial role in Iran’s military strategy, acting as both a deterrent and an offensive tool in its arsenal

The Emad missile is a long-range liquid-fueled missile developed by Iran’s Aerospace Industries Organization (AIO). It is known for its advanced precision guidance system, which allows it to strike targets with remarkable accuracy—within a few hundred meters. With a range of approximately 1,700 kilometers, the Emad is capable of targeting strategic locations throughout the Middle East, including U.S. military bases and allied nations. This missile is capable of carrying both conventional and potentially nuclear payloads, though Iran insists its missile program remains focused on conventional defense. The Emad's high maneuverability and sophisticated guidance make it a formidable weapon, enhancing Iran's ability to launch precise strikes and complicating interception by missile defense systems.

The Qadr is an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) that extends Iran's strike capabilities to targets beyond its immediate borders. With a range of 1,800 to 2,000 kilometers, the Qadr missile is capable of striking regional targets, including military bases and key infrastructure across the Middle East. An evolution of the earlier Shahab-3, the Qadr offers enhanced accuracy, payload capacity, and range. This missile can be equipped with both conventional warheads—such as high-explosive or chemical payloads—and potentially nuclear warheads. Its liquid-fuel propulsion provides flexibility in payload capacity but requires more preparation time compared to solid-fueled missiles. Despite this, the Qadr's advanced guidance and control systems make it a highly reliable and potent weapon for long-range precision strikes.

The Qiam is a short-to-medium range ballistic missile that distinguishes itself with its solid-fuel propulsion system and advanced inertial navigation. With a range of 800 to 1,000 kilometers, the Qiam is designed for precise, rapid strikes against regional targets. Unlike the Emad and Qadr, the Qiam missile’s compact design and solid fuel enable faster preparation and launch, providing operational flexibility. It is capable of carrying both conventional and potentially nuclear warheads, and its high accuracy—with a reported targeting error of less than 500 meters—makes it ideal for hitting critical infrastructure such as air defense systems and command centers. The Qiam’s mobility and quick-launch capability make it particularly effective in asymmetric warfare scenarios, where speed and unpredictability are crucial.

The decision to house these advanced missile systems in an underground facility underscores the importance of ensuring the survivability of Iran’s strategic assets. The facility provides protection from potential airstrikes, which have long been a threat to Iran's missile and nuclear infrastructure, particularly from Israel and the United States. By storing missiles underground, Iran secures its missile capabilities, ensuring they remain operational even in the event of a large-scale conflict. The subterranean base also complicates any preemptive strike attempts, as the full scope of Iran’s missile network remains difficult to assess.

Moreover, the underground facility enhances the strategic depth of Iran’s missile deterrence. In an era of advanced surveillance technologies, such as satellites and reconnaissance drones, underground storage ensures that Iran's missile assets remain hidden and protected. This, in turn, increases the survivability of its missiles, making them harder to detect and neutralize.

The unveiling of this underground missile facility signals a growing sophistication in Iran’s missile capabilities and its commitment to a self-sufficient defense posture. These missiles—Emad, Qadr, and Qiam—represent key components of Iran’s broader strategy to project power and deter foreign intervention in the Middle East. With a combination of long-range, precision-guided systems and advanced propulsion technologies, Iran’s missile arsenal significantly strengthens its ability to strike critical targets across the region.

For regional neighbors and global powers, particularly the U.S. and Israel, this development presents a renewed challenge to existing defense strategies. Iran’s growing missile capabilities, along with the protective measures taken to safeguard them, contribute to an increasingly complex security landscape. As tensions persist in the region, this new underground facility serves as both a message of strength and a reminder of the evolving balance of power in the Middle East.

The underground missile facility housing Iran's Emad, Qadr, and Qiam systems is a key development in the country’s missile program. With their increased range, accuracy, and survivability, these missile systems contribute to Iran’s deterrence capabilities and bolster its position in the regional security environment. This development will undoubtedly have significant implications for the security dynamics of the Middle East, influencing defense policies and shaping the strategies of both regional and global powers.