Iskander

This article refers to the Russian-made missile. For the Abkhaz writer, see Fazil Iskander. Iskander is also the Arabic version of the name Alexander, after Alexander the Great.''

Iskander (NATO reporting name SS-26 Stone) is a short range, solid fuel propelled, theater quasiballistic missile system produced in Russia.

The system is intended to use conventional warheads for the engagement of small and area targets, such as:

hostile fire weapons (missile systems, multiple launch rocket systems, long-range artillery pieces);
air and antimissile defence weapons, especially those located in relatively fixed sites;
fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft at airfields;
command posts and communications nodes;
critical civilian infrastructure facilities;
other vital small and area targets.

The missile system ensures:

high probability of fire mission accomplishment in hostile active countermeasures environments;
high probability of failure-proof functioning of the missile during its launch preparation and in flight;
automatic computation and input of missile flight missions by the launcher devices;
high tactical maneuverability and strategic mobility owing to transportability of the system vehicles by all types of transport;
long service life and ease of operation.

The Iskander-E system is equipped with a solid-propellant single-stage guided missile 9M723K1 controlled throughout the entire flight path and provided with a nonseparable warhead.

In flight, the missile follows a non-purely-ballistic path, which includes such features as violent maneuvers in the terminal phase of flight and the release of decoys. The missile never leaves the atmosphere as it follows a relatively flat trajectory.

Russia has announced that it is contemplating positioning a regiment of the missiles in neighboring Belarus in response to US missile defense plans in Eastern Europe.

Versions

Iskander-M – version for Russian armed forces. Range: 400 km with a potential for extension to INF Treaty violating 500 km.
Iskander-E – export version, specially designed to meet MTCR restrictions. Range: ~280 km.

Operators

Possible future operators

- President Bashar al-Assad told a Russian newspaper that he would like to revive a deal to import Russian Iskander ballistic missiles which have better targeting capabilities than its existing Scud missiles.