The Iranian Missile Boat with a Missile System Merhab

January 1, 2012 while passing the Strait of Hormuz in the military exercise "Velayat-90" Iran's navy carried out a test developed by the Iranian military, anti-aircraft missile system called Merhab. Launch occurred with converted Iranian military missile boat P 228 Gorz (the French model of development such as La Combattante II, constructed in 1978). As noted by Agence France-Presse, through the Strait of Hormuz is more than a third of all the oil vessels in the world, making it a strategic target for Iran.

The boat has two missile launchers new Merhab, which rise to run, and instead of a 40-mm gun mounts on the stern is the radar illumination system that operates in continuous wave mode, which is designed to detect air targets at different altitudes, as well as their azimuth, radial velocity and distance. The maximum range of the station is more than 100 km.

Externally, the missile itself Merhab is an analogue for the current U.S. anti-aircraft guided missile medium-range distance (often used as an antiship missile) RIM-66B Standard 1MR. SAM "Standard-1MR" (RIM-66) - is the basic rocket family Standard-ER. During 1974 and 1978 years Iran has been able to get 144 missiles RIM-66B Standard 1MR in container design. As for the missile launchers Merhab and RIM-66B in container design, they, as well as missiles are identical. It can be concluded that the missiles Merhab - not the latest development and modernization of the U.S. missile RIM-66B, which are already in service with the military of Iran. 


These missiles are five main sections: the head, autopilot, warhead (warhead), motor, and tail 
: • The head compartment is closed with a plastic fairing radiotransparent oval. It is a radar seeker with a signal processing unit, on-board computer and radio controlled fuses. Seeker provides target search performance, as well as capture it on the support of a homing missile. The whole process of management of missile flight is performed using on-board computer, autopilot, and inertial guidance unit. 

• In the bay there is a block autopilot autopilot elektrobatareya and converter. 
• In the bay of warhead warhead is a rod or a high-explosive type of erosion which the radar fuze (in Modified models of rockets and found fuse, triggered by a stroke). For most secure operation and transportation of the combat system is connected to a slam-actuator, which has four degrees of protection. 
• In the engine compartment is a single-chamber engine that runs on solid fuel. • In the tail section of the engine nozzle is located, as well as motors for aerodynamic mechanisms for piloting.

According to Iranian descriptions, Merhab is a dual-purpose missile and can be used both for the destruction of ships or ground targets and air. The missile is equipped with radar guidance head, which has two channels - semi-active and passive. semi-active homing - the guidance system, through which the missile is guided by the reflected radar signals coming from the target, the radar has the generated media or designator, whose role is often the vehicle. Passive homing - the guidance system, through which the missile is guided by a radio signal to set up. 

This system provides a direction-finding homing guidance for all ranges of frequencies. Modern passive systems are equipped with a radar-guided, "memorizing" the location of the source and are capable of retargeting missiles at a more dangerous place for an airplane, radio sources, such as, for example, the radar target illumination. main mode when shooting at targets in the air, using semi-active radar guidance, that works with the lighting of a special naval radar. In order to defeat radio-emitting sea, air and ground targets, as well as jammers used passive radar homing mode. The maximum range when firing rockets Merhab, according to the developers, up to 75 km.