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What we're looking at here is an Iranian 359 missile. This secret weapon and a very similar version called the 358 are thought to be behind the loss of a billion dollars worth of US kit during the Iran war. There are even rumors that one managed to hit an F-35 fighter, one of the most advanced jets ever created. That's because there's more to these missiles than meets the eye. So, what exactly makes them so special and why are they proving so deadly? We're going to break down how they're put together and take a look at footage of them in action to find out. Here are the 358 and 359 missiles. Those are designated numbers given to these secret weapons by the US when it uncovered them. There's lots we don't know about them, but the facts and
figures we do know are as follows. The 358 is the smaller of the two, around 9-ft long. It weighs an estimated 110 lb with a warhead that weighs approximately 22 lb. It has a range of around 60 mi and its speed is estimated at around 400 mph. The 359 is around twice the size, though we don't have exact measurements for it. It has a range of 100 mi, can fly up to 30,000 ft, and hit speeds of more than 600 mph. How much do they cost? The 358 is thought to be worth tens of thousands rather than hundreds of thousands of dollars. The 359 almost certainly costs more, but how much more? We can't say for sure. Now, let's get into the specifics. First, the 358. The
missile is broadly broken down into two sections, the guidance and weapon section at the front and the propulsion section at the rear. Let's start our tour at the back with the turbojet engine. This is thought to be copied from a Dutch company called AMT, which makes a small jet engine for use in model planes. To either side of the engine, you've got stabilizing fins, which help keep the missile flying straight through the air. Then, in front of those and inside the body of the 358 is the fuel. Missiles typically use solid fuel, but this is thought to use liquid kerosene jet fuel. In the center of the missile are more large stabilizing fins. Again, these keep the missile stable
in the air. Then, we get to the guidance and weapon section. Immediately in front of the central stabilizers is a data link section with an aerial. This means that a pilot can stay connected to the missile while it is in flight and see what it sees. This is more common on a drone and hints at this weapon's unique feature, which we'll discuss more in just a moment. In front of that is a gyroscope and satellite navigation system. These keep the drone pointing the right way up and tell it where to go in case the pilot loses contact. Then, there's another set of fins. These aren't stabilizers, but canards. They twist side to steer the missile in flight. Again, more about that in just a moment.
In front of those is the warhead. This is high explosive fragmentation and designed to shred targets with shrapnel. Second to last, we have a ring of cameras around the top of the missile, which are thought to be part of the fuse. They sense when the missile is close to its target and detonate it. Then, last of all, there's an infrared seeker in the nose. This is also referred to as a heat seeker. This is how the missile homes in on its target. Again, more on that in just a second. The 359 is very similar in its construction with just a few two differences. At the back, it has a larger and more powerful turbojet engine. This time thought to be a copy of a Czech design. There are no rear stabilizing fins, but the large
central stabilizers have been moved towards the back of the missile. And unlike the central stabilizers on the smaller version, these have flaps on the rear edge that can be used to help steer in the air. In the midsection of the missile, alongside the fuel tank, is a parachute which can be deployed through a hatch. This is so the missile can be recovered if it fails to hit a target. Again, not a typical feature of a missile and another hint at its secret skill. In front of that, you've got all the same guidance kit you'll find in the smaller version, along with the canards which provide additional steering. And then, the warhead, thought
to be much larger than in the 358, though we don't have an exact figure. And the IR seeker in the nose. Each of these missiles is also fitted with a much smaller rocket motor underneath the main body, which is used just for takeoff. Once in the air, this drops away and the main motor takes over. Go back to the tapes, then we can see everything I was just talking about. This is the 359, the larger missile sitting on its launcher. The launcher is a simple rail mounted on the back of a truck that has been covered with camo netting. Down here, you can see the launch motor, which will drop away when it's in the air. Here's the large stabilizers. And you can see the flaps built into their rear edge. And here's
the smaller canards at the front, which can twist back and forth. You can see the glass dome on the nose, which hides the IR seeker underneath. And from the back, you can see that large turbojet engine which powers it in flight. Now, let's take a look at the 358. This footage isn't so good, but some features are still visible. Here's the launcher, another truck, but this time there's two missiles inside with space between them. You can see a set of canards at the front, the lenses for the laser fuse, and the IR seeker in the nose. You can see it's mounted on a rail again. And, the central set of stabilizing fins can be seen here. If we zoom out, you
can see how it launches. We think the smaller rocket motor drops away here, where the trail of smoke stops. So, what exactly is the party trick of these two missiles that makes them so deadly? Well, looks can be deceiving because these two aren't strictly missiles at all. They're what's called loitering munitions. In plain English, they're like a mixture between a drone and a missile. What they do is take off from their launcher, fly to a predetermined location, and then start flying in a giant figure of eight pattern. They're loitering, waiting for a target to find them rather than going to find a target. While loitering, that IR seeker we already talked about is scanning the
skies for infrared signatures. That's the heat signature that enemy drones, helicopters, and jets make when compared to the much cooler air around them. When it recognizes one of those targets, which have to be programmed into it beforehand, it flies towards them until it makes contact, at which point it explodes. If it runs out of fuel before spotting a target, it either crashes, in the case of the 358, or in the case of the 359, it deploys its parachute, floats safely to the ground where it can be refueled and used again. This loitering feature makes the 358 particularly deadly against things like the MQ-9 Reaper, an American drone that has been used extensively in its wars in the Middle East.
Capable of carrying an awesome array of firepower, these things were lethal in the fight against Al-Qaeda and ISIS. But, they're also slow-moving and spend a long time loitering over battlefields as well. Meaning, they're relatively easy for a loitering munition like the 358 to spot. Once the 358 has locked on, the Reapers have few countermeasures to throw it off again and are relatively easy to catch up with. We now know that the US lost 24 Reapers at a total cost of almost 3/4 of a billion dollars over Iran during the war. But, that's not all. Because Iran has also been shipping these weapons to its proxy groups, including the Houthis in Yemen. And they are thought to have taken down at least another 13 Reapers during the
American bombing campaign there last year. So, that's over a billion dollars worth of damage just in Reaper drones. And that's before we come to the 359. While this can take down Reapers, this isn't thought to be its primary purpose. Analysts think this thing is supposed to go after aircraft like helicopters, mid-air refueling jets, and potentially even F-35s. There are rumors that an Apache helicopter worth around 50 million dollars each was damaged by one of these in Yemen. And of course, the US lost a KC-135 Stratotanker over Iran. We think that was due to a collision with another refueler because of the damage we saw afterwards. But, what caused the tankers to crash into each other in the first
place? It could easily have been turbulence, or it might not have been. Then, there's the footage of the F-35 being hit. This should have been an almost impossible shot with conventional anti-air missiles because the F-35 is built to be invisible to long-range radar. Most conventional missiles use radar for guidance, and they can't hit what they can't see. But, the 359 is far from a conventional weapon, and it doesn't use radar. It uses infrared, and the F-35 can't hide from that because its engine gets hot. That means this strike could well have been carried out by a 359. This is Justin Bronk, an expert we've worked with on this show before, suggesting that either a 358 or 359 missile could have been responsible. If that turns out to be correct, it will
have been a very lucky shot because the F-35 can fly much faster than these loitering munitions can. In a straight race, they would have had no hope of catching up with and hitting the jet. But by being in exactly the right place at exactly the right time, it could have scored a lucky hit. Lucky, but also impressive because the F-35 is worth north of 100 million dollars each, and is widely regarded as the most advanced fighter jet in the skies today. Taking all of that together then, we can say that what makes the 358 and 359 special is their unusual blending of technologies traditionally used in missiles and drones. Their turbojet engines and missile-shaped bodies make
them much faster than drones like the Shahed, which means they're useful as an anti-air weapon because they can actually catch up to other aircraft and strike them, primarily the Reaper drones, but potentially helicopters, midair refuelers, and fighter jets. What makes them so deadly is their ability to loiter. Iran can effectively set booby traps in the air for passing enemy aircraft. Rather than having to dodge missiles fired from long distances using radar trackers, which can be jammed, pilots find themselves being hit from much closer range by missiles using IR sensors, which are harder to hide from. And that seems to be how Iran has
destroyed US equipment worth more than a billion dollars using missiles worth only a few hundred thousand. Even for the world's most powerful military, that has got to hurt. Hi everyone. Thanks for watching. If you like this and want to see more of our content on the Iran-Iraq head to our YouTube profile and check out our Iran-Iraq playlist. While you're there, don't forget to hit like and subscribe to see the next video we make direct to your feed.
