Jonathan Hackett says Iran’s Kheibar Shekan missile changed how U.S. defenses have to work after the July 17 strikes on Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan killed three American service members. The former Marine and U.S. intelligence officer said the missile’s 900-mile range, maneuverable warhead and final-phase course changes complicate intercept planning across the Middle East.
July 17 strikes on Muwaffaq Salti
Hackett, who held positions at the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency, National Security Agency and Marine Forces Special Operations Command before retiring in October 2024, said, "We designed entire air defense systems based on this understanding of what we thought they would do." He added, "And now, they're doing something different."
He also said, "So now you have to change your defensive posture for missile defense in a way that we hadn't been doing previously. Ever," tying the July 17 strikes to a broader shift in how U.S. and allied bases have to be defended. The Kheibar Shekan, which Iran calls Castle Breaker, is mounted on mobile launchers and uses solid fuel, making it harder to spot before launch.
Iran's missile use in Jordan
On Aug. 31, an Iranian state-run outlet said Iran used Kheibar Shekan missiles to hit Muwaffaq Salti and the King Hussein air base in Jordan in response to a U.S. military attack on Iran's Larak Island. Tasnim News Agency, which is affiliated with the IRGC, said the IRGC targeted technical and maintenance infrastructure as well as fighter-jet bases at the two facilities, causing significant damage.
Iran has also used the missile extensively against the U.S. naval hub in Bahrain and other American bases during the six-month war with the U.S. and Israel. Some analysts believe Iran used Kheibar Shekan missiles in the July 17 strikes on Muwaffaq Salti, but that attribution has been hard to corroborate publicly.
Middle East bases under pressure
The missile’s reach extends to U.S. and allied targets across the Middle East, including Israel, Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia and Al Dhafra Air Base in the United Arab Emirates. For commanders defending those sites, the change is not academic: a missile that can alter course late in flight forces radar, interception and launch-warning planning to account for a moving target rather than a straight one.
Hackett’s account points to the practical question left by the July 17 strikes: what evidence directly ties that attack to Kheibar Shekan missiles. Until that attribution is pinned down, the operational lesson is already visible for U.S. and allied bases across the Middle East.
