What Is Blue Sparrow, The 'Missile From Space' That Israel Used To Kill Ayatollah Khamenei?

Last Updated:March 06, 2026, 12:51 IST

Israel used the Blue Sparrow, an air-launched ballistic missile that briefly exits Earth’s atmosphere before striking at high speed, in the strike that killed Khamenei.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed on February 28, 2026, in a major strike carried out during coordinated Israeli and US military operations targeting senior Iranian leadership and strategic facilities across the country.

The strikes targeted top Iranian leadership and key installations, dramatically escalating tensions in West Asia.

Multiple media reports said Israel used an advanced jet-launched ballistic weapon known as the Blue Sparrow, often described as a “missile from space" because of the trajectory it follows before striking its target.

The missile reportedly climbed toward the edge of Earth’s atmosphere before plunging back toward its target at extremely high speed, striking the compound where Iran’s political and military leadership had gathered.

WHAT IS THE BLUE SPARROW MISSILE?

The weapon believed to have been used in the strike, the Blue Sparrow, is an advanced air-launched ballistic missile developed by Israel.

According to The Telegraph, the missile has a range of roughly 1,240 miles (about 2,000 kilometres) and follows a trajectory that takes it to the edge of Earth’s atmosphere before it plunges back down onto its target.

Because of this flight path, the missile is sometimes described as a “missile from space."

The Blue Sparrow measures about 6.5 metres in length and weighs roughly 1.9 tonnes, according to technical descriptions cited by multiple reports.

It is typically launched from fighter aircraft and follows a ballistic trajectory before releasing a re-entry vehicle that strikes the target at high speed.

The Telegraph reported that debris from the missile, described as long, grey cylindrical fragments, was later found in western Iraq, believed to be along the missile’s flight path toward Iran.

Defence analysts cited by Forbes say versions of the Sparrow missile system have been adapted to enable aircraft to launch ballistic-style weapons from long standoff distances, allowing attacks on heavily defended targets without exposing aircraft to air-defence systems.

ORIGINS OF THE SPARROW MISSILE SYSTEM

The Blue Sparrow is part of a broader family of missiles that also includes the Black Sparrow and Silver Sparrow, systems originally designed to simulate Soviet Scud missiles for air-defence testing.

An earlier AFP report from 2008 said the Blue Sparrow was developed by Israel’s Armament Development Authority and launched from fighter jets during tests of the Israeli-developed Arrow missile defence system, which is designed to intercept ballistic missiles.

Over time, analysts say the system has evolved beyond its testing role and can now function as a high-speed precision strike weapon.

Its ability to briefly exit the atmosphere and then re-enter at extremely high speed reduces reaction time for defenders and makes interception far more difficult.

That capability, analysts say, makes the Blue Sparrow particularly suited for high-value and time-sensitive targets, such as the compound where Iran’s supreme leader and senior officials had gathered on the day of the strike.

MISSILE STRIKE ON TEHRAN COMPOUND

Details of the strike suggest a highly coordinated operation involving intelligence gathering, surveillance and precision weaponry.

Reports suggested that Israeli fighter aircraft launched missiles that arced toward the edge of space before diving back to Earth and hitting the compound where Iran’s top officials were meeting.

The impact killed the country’s most powerful leader along with dozens of senior officials.

Israeli F-15 fighter jets and other aircraft were deployed at around 7.30 am Iran time, NDTV reported. Roughly two hours later, the aircraft launched about 30 missiles, including Blue Sparrow systems, at the compound associated with Khamenei.

The strike occurred while senior Iranian political and military leaders had gathered at the site.

Further details reported by The New York Times said the operation relied on intelligence gathered by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), which had been tracking Khamenei’s movements for months.

According to the newspaper, US intelligence learned that a meeting of top Iranian officials would take place at a government compound in Tehran and that Khamenei would be present.

The CIA shared what officials described as “high fidelity" intelligence about the supreme leader’s location with Israel.

Originally planned as a nighttime operation, the United States and Israel adjusted the timing of the strike to exploit the information about the meeting.

The attack began around 6 am in Israel, when fighter jets took off from their bases.

About two hours and five minutes later, around 9.40 am in Tehran, long-range missiles struck the compound.

While senior Iranian national security officials were gathered in one building of the compound at the time of the attack, Khamenei was in another nearby structure.

DECEPTION AND INTELLIGENCE OPERATIONS

Reports indicate the strike was the culmination of a complex intelligence operation.

According to the New York Post, Israeli officials deliberately created the impression that the military was standing down for the weekend ahead of the attack.

An Israel Defence Forces official told reporters that the military released photos and information suggesting senior commanders were going home for Shabbat dinner, creating the impression that operations had paused.

In reality, officials covertly returned to headquarters to prepare the strike.

The report also said Israel’s intelligence agency Mossad tracked the movements of security personnel around Khamenei’s compound on Pasteur Street in central Tehran, monitoring bodyguards’ schedules and movements.

Surveillance cameras in the area helped Israeli intelligence determine when senior Iranian leaders had gathered at the compound.

According to the report, Israeli forces also disrupted around a dozen mobile phone towers near the compound during the operation to prevent security teams from receiving warnings.

Israeli and US war rooms were reportedly synchronised in real time, allowing commanders to adjust the operation based on Iran’s response.

The strike, according to Israeli officials, killed more than 40 senior Iranian leaders, including Mohammad Pakpour, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

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