Zarvan
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A screen grab from Iranian television shows the air-breathing engine mounted under the rear of the Soumar's fuselage and the solid-fuel booster attached at the back. Source: Press TV
Key Points
- The assumption that Iran's Soumar cruise missile has a range of 2,500 km almost certainly overstates the weapon's performance
- Iran would have to use a turbojet engine to power a long-range cruise missile that could be produced without relying on smuggling more efficient turbofans into the country
Nevertheless, a figure of 2,500 km rapidly emerged as this is the stated range of the Soviet Kh-55 cruise missile that the Soumar appears to be a copied from. This would ostensibly seem to be a fair assertion, given that Ukrainian officials revealed in 2005 that 12 Kh-55 missiles were illegally sold to Iran (as well as another six to China) without their nuclear warheads in 2001.
To achieve this range in a domestically produced cruise missile Iran would need an engine with a similar performance to the R95-300 turbofan used in the original Kh-55. However, it is highly unlikely that Iran is capable of producing such an engine.
While Iran claims to make its own versions of various US-designed aircraft, it has struggled to keep its jets and helicopters flying in the face of a sanctions regime that prohibits the sale of aircraft parts. In one of the most glaring examples of Iran's inability to produce aero engines, it was revealed in 2009 that 17 Rolls-Royce M250 turboshaft engines had been illegally exported to the Islamic Republic for its fleet of Bell 206 helicopters.
It is even harder to produce a small turbofan engine for a cruise missile than it a standard-sized engine due to the smaller components and higher pressures and temperatures involved. Indeed, there are only five known manufacturers that currently make small turbofans that could be used in cruise missiles: Williams International in the United States (F107 and F112); Pratt & Whitney Canada (PW600); AMNTK Soyuz (R95-300) and NPO Saturn (36MT) in Russia; and Motor Sich in Ukraine (MS400). It is unclear if China's turbofan-powered cruise missiles use domestically produced engines or ones imported from Russia or Ukraine.
It could be possible that Iran has managed to obtain a number of small turbofans through sanctions-busting activities or that it presented the missiles that it obtained from Ukraine in 2001 as a new product. Five Soumars were seen in a photograph released by the Ministry of Defence, one that had been painted white was used for the unveiling ceremony and Iranian television showed another being fired from a vehicle-mounted launcher using a solid-fuel booster rocket motor that was not needed for the air-launched Kh-55.
An alternative explanation is that the Iranians dispensed with the turbofan used on the original Kh-55 and fitted the Soumar with a far simpler and cheaper turbojet engine.
Iran has claimed it is producing the Tolou-4 (also spelt Tolu or Tolloue) turbojet engine since 1999. This has been identified as a copy of the TRI 60-2 engine made by the French company Microturbo and is presumed to power Iran's longer-range anti-ship missiles, including the Noor and Ghadir, which are versions of the Chinese C-802.
While the Chinese involvement in Iran's anti-ship missile programme raises the possibility that the Tolou-4 is made in China, Iranian television has shown footage of the engine being assembled in Iran.
It was announced during Iran's Kish Airshow in 2005 that the Tolou-5 engine was under development and would be capable of producing 4.4 kN of thrust and have a longer lifespan. Nothing more has been heard of this engine since then.
While an engine with 4 kN of thrust would be adequate for sustaining a cruise missile the size of the Soumar in flight, turbojets are significantly less efficient than turbofans. The Soumar would consequently need to carry far more fuel and a smaller warhead or use larger aerodynamic surfaces than the Kh-55 to achieve the same 2,500 km range.
As the Iranian missile's wingspan appears to be similar to that of the Kh-55 (3.1 m) and the Iranians are unlikely to have significantly reduced its payload, it can be presumed that the Soumar's range is far less than 2,500 km. This, however, is not necessarily a problem for the Iranians. Even if the Soumar only has half the range of the Kh-55 it could still reach Israel and most US bases in the region.
Analysis: Iranian cruise missile unveiling raises questions about range - IHS Jane's 360
) and it's military is/was in mess, if Iran was able to smuggle 12 missiles (with their engines) it is even easier now. 
