Iran last Friday test fired what it claims is the world's fastest underwater missile - reported to have a top speed of 360km/h (233mph), according to the BBC.

Special Republican guard troops fired the weapon - dubbed "Hoot" or Whale - and successfully destroyed a derelict ship in the Gulf as part of Iran's "Holy Prophet" war games. Iranian TV interrupted normal broadcasts to show footage of the test.

Regarding the Hoot, the deputy head of the Republican Guard, Gen Ali Fadavi, told AP: "It has a very powerful warhead designed to hit big submarines. Even if enemy warship sensors identify the missile, no warship can escape from this missile because of its high speed." ®

Bootnote

Thanks to the anonymous Russian reader who wrote in to offer this link demonstrating a possible source of Iran's underwater missile tech.

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