Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Toofan missiles are a weapon used by Hamas to threaten Israel if attacks on Gaza are not stopped.
This weapon was apparently developed by Iran and came from the United States. The Toophan or Tufan missile was developed by copying the BGM-71 TOW missile made in the United States.
“Iran has long demonstrated the ability to plagiarize [reverse-engineer] US arsenal. “They copied the TOW anti-tank missile, created an almost perfect replica and named it Toophan,” said Jonathan Lord from the Center for a New American Security, as quoted by CNN International, Thursday (19/10/2023).
TOW missiles were purchased by Iran from the United States in the 1970s. However, the US stopped providing weapons and weapons technology to Iran after the Iranian Revolution broke out in 1979.
The weapon can be launched from the ground or from an aircraft. Toofan uses the SACLOS guidance system. The user must keep the camera beam on the target until the missile hits it.
On the Toofan missile there are xenon lights which are then detected by a thermal lens, to determine the missile’s position. On the other hand, the main camera determines the target position. Information from these two cameras is then processed by a control center called (Digital Missile Guidance Set/DMGS). DMGS will then select the missile’s route and correct the trajectory.
The Toofan missile continues to be developed until it already has several versions. The first version, the Toofan-1, which was copied from the BGM-71 TOW had a range of 3,850 and a penetration force of 550 mm.
Then there is the Toofan-3, a missile designed to destroy armored vehicles from above, which is the most vulnerable part of the tank. After launching at a height of 2-3 meters, Toofan-3 will do two things once it is positioned above the target tank. First, slide down or explode above the target.
In Toofan-4, Iran began to apply thermobaric or vacuum bomb technology. Thermobaric ammunition explosions disperse explosive liquids, gases, or powders. This system means that all the explosive material in the missile is also fuel, so the missile can produce much more energy.
[Gambas:Video CNBC]
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