What is Blue Sparrow, the missile that came from 'space' to kill Khamenei?
A stealth ballistic strike from outside Earth's atmosphere caught Tehran’s higher leader and other top officials in a daylight death trap
Despite all their hot warnings, the Iranian leadership was clueless when on February 28, a little-known ballistic missile unleashed by Israel took it by surprise and eliminated Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the country’s supreme leader who had been at the helm for more than three decades, besides many others, in a flash.
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The Blue Sparrow missile, which leaves the Earth’s atmosphere to come back at its target and blasts it at full force, is an ideal military option when one intends to strike a highly protected target such as the supreme leader.
The deadly Sparrow family missile
Produced by Israel's Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, the modular air-launched weapon, which has a range of about 1,240 miles (around 2,000 kilometres), is part of the Jewish nation’s air-launched missile series that includes other ‘birds’ — the Black Sparrow and Silver Sparrow, designed to replicate the Scud missiles, similar to those that Iraq had fired during the Gulf War of 1991.
An AI-generated photo of how Israels Blue Sparrow missile works
The missiles are typically launched from fighter planes, with their booster rockets propelling them to space, allowing the bombs to remain positioned over their designated target. It is this particular feature of these missiles going deep into space that makes it immensely difficult to intercept them. The warhead gets separated from the missile rocket and re-enters the atmosphere to nail down the target.
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The Blue Sparrow was originally designed to evade air-defence systems, given their high speed. Israel is believed to have also used them during its 2024 assault on Iran.
Missile debris found in Iraq
The deadly journey of the Blue Sparrow was evident from the fact that long grey cylinders of debris from the missile were later discovered in western Iraq, which presumably came on its path.
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The planning behind the surprise attack was no less dramatic. According to western media reports, it came after Israeli officials purportedly gave the impression that they were disbursing for weekend joy and while high-ranking officials were seen leaving the headquarters, they quickly returned in disguises to prepare for the deadly attack on Khamenei’s premises.
Khamenei's life cut short the moment he stepped out of bunker
The late leader was believed to be staying in a deep, underground bunker to protect himself from the attacks. But as luck had it, the Blue Sparrow ended his journey soon after he reached the Pasteur Street compound in Tehran for the meeting.
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The report also said that while the attack was originally planned for the nighttime, it was later shifted to the weekend morning to target a meeting of Iran’s top officials, the New York Times reported, citing informed sources. Both the Israeli and American forces acted in synchronisation to ensure that the strike was successful, and it was, not only in eliminating Iran’s highest leader but also many members of his family, top security officials and other key members of the regime.