Missiles

Iran said its missiles now have a range of about 1,250 miles, a substantial extension of their previously declared reach. The old version of Iran's Shahab-3 missile had a range of 810 miles, making it capable of hitting Israel and various U.S. military bases in the Middle East.

Sweden joined Finland on Monday in urging the United States and the Soviet Union to discuss a ban on cruise missiles, 10 days after a stray Soviet cruise missile accidentally crashed in Finland. Prime Minister Olof Palme said Sweden would welcome a ban on the missiles, adding he hopes that the issue will play a central role in the Geneva talks between Foreign Minister Andrei A. Gromyko and Secretary of State George P. Shultz.

A missile left over from Saddam Hussein's regime fell off a trailer and exploded, killing three people in Baghdad. Residents said the accident happened as Iraqi contractors were removing four Iraqi missiles left from the war. Army Lt. Col. Joel Armstrong said no U.S. soldier was involved in removing the weapons.

The Army, anticipating the Soviet Union's use of a new armor for its tanks, last month began producing a new type of TOW anti-tank missile, Maj. Phil Soucy, an Army spokesman, said. At a cost of $500 per missile, a small explosive charge has been added to the warhead of the TOW, Soucy said. Although many aspects of the program are still classified, the Army decided to release some details in part to respond to rising concerns expressed by U.S. and NATO defense experts.

The chief U.N. weapons inspector failed to persuade Iraq to release missile parts for inspection to verify that Baghdad is following orders to destroy long-range missiles, as required under agreements that ended the Persian Gulf War. U.N. inspector Rolf Ekeus wants to take disassembled parts abroad for analysis to confirm that they actually came from long-range missiles. He says the analysis can only be done outside of Iraq. Iraq has resisted, saying it fears the results will be forged.

The French-built Exocet missile used against the U.S. frigate Stark in the Persian Gulf was the same type of missile that sank the British destroyer Sheffield in the 1982 Falklands War, killing 20 crew members. The weapon, which has a warhead similar to a torpedo and travels just under the speed of sound, provides a "fire-and-forget" attack capability against surface ships, according to Jane's All the World's Aircraft, a standard military reference work.

The United States and Israel will cooperate in developing an anti-ballistic missile (ABM) to help defend Israel against tactical missiles or chemical attacks, officials said. A memorandum of understanding on the project will be signed soon, the White House said as President Reagan met with Israeli Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin. The missile, called Arrow, is already under development in Israel, but the Israelis need funding and technological help.

President Bush will tell Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev at their summit conference this weekend that the deployment of surface-to-air missiles in El Salvador "is a dangerous escalation" of the conflict there, the Administration said Monday, suggesting that Central American conflicts threaten improved superpower relations.

Aerojet Propulsion Division, a major defense contractor, has won a $9.1-million contract to develop cooling technology allowing missile interceptors to fly at hypersonic speeds. The five-year contract with the Army is for further development of the company's platelet technology to protect the front end of missiles from melting under the scorching heat of hypersonic speeds.

An Escondido manufacturer has been reprimanded by the Department of Defense because of poorly made warhead casings that were intended to go inside Sparrow air-to-air missiles used by Air Force, Navy and NATO fighter jets. ATI Industries--which is listed on the Escondido Chamber of Commerce roster as a "manufacturer of aircraft tools"--stopped making the casings late last year after inspectors said the company had systematic quality control problems, government officials told The Times.