{"id":737999,"date":"2026-04-19T03:50:25","date_gmt":"2026-04-19T03:50:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/737999\/"},"modified":"2026-04-19T03:50:25","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T03:50:25","slug":"lesson-for-china-irans-low-cost-358-missile-takes-out-million-dollar-us-assets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/737999\/","title":{"rendered":"Lesson for China? Iran\u2019s low-cost 358 missile takes out million-dollar US assets"},"content":{"rendered":"<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">The \u201cdrone-killing\u201d success of Iran\u2019s 358 loitering munition, especially against expensive US-made platforms, is attracting attention well beyond the battlefield in the Middle East.<\/p>\n<p>In China, state media has taken a look at the Iranian-designed counter-drone loitering interceptor\u2019s reported role in bringing down multiple uncrewed aerial vehicles, or <a target=\"_self\" class=\"e1yy41x40 ef9u0v01 css-1ankfgb ecgc78b0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scmp.com\/topics\/drones?module=inline&amp;pgtype=article\" title=\"\" data-qa=\"BaseLink-renderAnchor-StyledAnchor\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">drones<\/a>, like the MQ-9 \u201cReaper\u201d in the <a target=\"_self\" class=\"e1yy41x40 ef9u0v01 css-1ankfgb ecgc78b0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scmp.com\/topics\/us-israel-war-iran?module=inline&amp;pgtype=article\" title=\"\" data-qa=\"BaseLink-renderAnchor-StyledAnchor\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">US-Israel war on Iran<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">The 358 missile, also known as the SA-67, weighs about 50kg (110lbs). Powered by a micro-turbojet and solid rocket booster, it cruises subsonically at about Mach 0.6 for 100-150km (62-93 miles) and employs an infrared seeker for target guidance.<\/p>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">Compared with conventional surface-to-air missiles, which often exceed Mach 3, the missile 358\u2019s relatively slow speed is a significant limitation deemed inadequate for engaging jet-powered aircraft.<\/p>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">However, the weapon possesses unique advantages, according to Chinese military commentator Zhang Xuefeng.<\/p>\n<p>The 358 has \u201cno problem at all\u201d taking down slower-flying, turboprop-powered Medium-Altitude, Long-Endurance (MALE) drones like the Reaper, and its main benefit is its extremely low cost, Zhang told state broadcaster <a target=\"_self\" class=\"e1yy41x40 ef9u0v01 css-1ankfgb ecgc78b0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scmp.com\/topics\/cctv?module=inline&amp;pgtype=article\" title=\"\" data-qa=\"BaseLink-renderAnchor-StyledAnchor\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CCTV<\/a> on Wednesday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The \u201cdrone-killing\u201d success of Iran\u2019s 358 loitering munition, especially against expensive US-made platforms, is attracting attention well beyond&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":738000,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[6],"tags":[64,9310,74,22165,304708,83,256556,99,304707,304704,266321,104764,139837,304706,67,132,68,304705],"class_list":["post-737999","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-cctv","tag-china","tag-chinese","tag-fl-d","tag-iran","tag-iranian","tag-israel","tag-mq-9","tag-norinco","tag-operation-epic-fury","tag-reaper","tag-sa","tag-shahed","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us","tag-zhang-xuefeng"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116429339163994386","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/737999","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=737999"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/737999\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/738000"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=737999"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=737999"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=737999"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}