The Badr-3 (

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walte ...

: بدر 3 (صاروخ)),

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

: בדר 3) is a

surface-to-surface missile A surface-to-surface missile (SSM) or ground-to-ground missile (GGM) is a missile designed to be launched from the ground or the sea and strike targets on land or at sea. They may be fired from hand-held or vehicle mounted devices, from fixed ins ...

. Developed in 2019 in

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkm ...

under the

Popular Mobilization Forces The Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) ( ar, الحشد الشعبي ''al-Ḥashd ash-Shaʿbī''), also known as the People's Mobilization Committee (PMC) and the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), is an Iraqi state-sponsored umbrella organization ...

's Technical Directorate for Military Production and the

Quds Force The Quds Force ( fa, نیروی قدس, niru-ye qods, Jerusalem Force) is one of five branches of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) specializing in unconventional warfare and military intelligence operations. U.S. Army's Iraq War ...

, its design was primarily produced and exported as part of the Palestinian rocket arsenal, of which its primary user is the

Al-Quds Brigades Al-Quds Brigades (AQB) ( ar, سرايا القدس, ''Saraya al-Quds'' meaning ''Jerusalem Brigades'') is the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamist organization Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), which is the second largest group in the Gaza St ...

under

Palestinian Islamic Jihad The Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine ( ar, حركة الجهاد الإسلامي في فلسطين, ''Harakat al-Jihād al-Islāmi fi Filastīn''), known in the West simply as Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), is a Palestinian Islamist pa ...

(PIJ).

Characteristics

Compared to other rockets by

Hamas Hamas (, ; , ; an acronym of , "Islamic Resistance Movement") is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist, militant, and nationalist organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Bri ...

, PIJ, and Palestinian factions in the

Gaza–Israel conflict The Gaza–Israel conflict is a part of the localized Israeli–Palestinian conflict, but is also a scene of power struggle between regional powers including Egypt, Iran and Turkey together with Qatar, supporting different sides of the confli ...

, the Badr-3 has a heavier payload than most other rockets, with a verified range of 8 miles (13 km), despite claims by PIJ to be able to travel 160 km, compared to the likes of the

Fajr-5 The Fajr-5 (rarely Fadjr-5, fa, فجر-۵, "Dawn") is an Iranian 333 mm long-range multiple launch rocket system (MLRS). The Fajr-5 was developed during the 1990s and has since been exported to various armed actors in the Middle East. The ...

, the R-160, and Hamas' Ayyash 250 (250 km range). With a warhead weighing 250 kg, in October 2023, a spokesperson for al-Quds Brigade claimed variants with a 400 kg warhead. Though its early development was primarily in Iran, it was designed to be able to be produced locally.

Usage

Early stages of its development was placed around 2016-2018, as intelligence reports indicated that Iran was developing and producing ballistic missiles for proxies amongst its allies with focus on distribution to

Iraqi militias The term militia in contemporary Iraq refers to armed groups that fight on behalf of or as part of the Iraqi government, the Mahdi Army and Badr Organization being two of the biggest. Many predate the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, but some have e ...

and allies throughout the Middle East, including

Houthi rebels The Houthi movement (; ar, ٱلْحُوثِيُّون ''al-Ḥūthīyūn'' ), officially called Ansar Allah (' ''Partisans of God'' or ''Supporters of God'') and colloquially simply Houthis, is an Islamist political and armed movement that ...

Hezbollah Hezbollah (; ar, حزب الله ', , also transliterated Hizbullah or Hizballah, among others) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and militant group, led by its Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah since 1992. Hezbollah's paramil ...

, and PIJ. Early stages of the missile's development was helmed by IRGC's

Unit 340 with motor testing in

Bid Kaneh , native_name_lang = fa , settlement_type = Village , image_skyline = , imagesize = , image_alt = , image_caption = , image_flag = , flag_alt = , ...

and test flights at

Semnan, Iran Semnan ( Persian: , ); is the capital city of Semnan Province, situated on the alluvial fan of the Golrudbar creek in north central Iran, 216 km east of Tehran and 640 km west of Mashhad. With a population of 185,129 people, Semnan is ...

. The PIJ unveiled the missile in 2019, with its first usage launched from Gaza to the city of

Ashkelon Ashkelon or Ashqelon (; Hebrew: , , ; Philistine: ), also known as Ascalon (; Ancient Greek: , ; Arabic: , ), is a coastal city in the Southern District of Israel on the Mediterranean coast, south of Tel Aviv, and north of the border ...

. The missile saw sporadic usage in

Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel Since 2001, Palestinian militants have launched thousands of rocket and mortar attacks on Israel from the Gaza Strip as part of the continuing Arab–Israeli conflict. The attacks, widely condemned for targeting civilians, have been des ...

from 2019 to 2023, to which in 12 May 2023, the missile was intercepted during the debut operation of

David's Sling David's Sling ( he, קלע דוד, Kela David), also formerly known as Magic Wand ( he , שרביט קסמים, Sharvit Ksamim , links= no), is an Israel Defense Forces military system being jointly developed by the Israeli defense contractor R ...

. The missile saw extensive usage on part of the PIJ during the

2023 Israel–Hamas war } The ongoing armed conflict between Hamas-led Palestinian militant groups and Israel military forces began on 7 October 2023, 50 years after the start of the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Hamas's coordinated surprise offensive, codenamed "Al-Aqsa F ...

. On 17 November 2023, during the

Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip On the evening of 27 October 2023, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched a large-scale invasion inside the Gaza Strip, as part of the 2023 Israel–Hamas war, with the stated goal of destroying Hamas and overthrowing it. Background Aft ...

, the

Bislamach Brigade The School for Infantry Corps Professions and Squad Commanders (Hebrew: ''Beit HaSefer LiMfakdei Kitot UMiktzo'ot Heil HaRaglim'', best known by its acronym Bislamach) is the Israel Defense Forces body responsible for the training of all Infan ...

and Yahalom units of the Israel Defense Forces captured a set of missiles in northern Gaza. They were then sent to Israel for further analysis.

References

{{Iran missiles Rocket artillery Rocket weapons of Palestine Gaza Strip Artillery of Iran Gaza–Israel conflict Military vehicles introduced in the 2010s