[Pyros]

Hi,

copy/paste from Military Procurement International Vol. 16, No. 17, September 1, 2006

Hezbollah’s arsenal


During the 33 days of fighting that ended – at least temporarily – in South Lebanon on August 14, the Shi’ite Hezbollah fired more than 500 anti-tank missiles against Israel Defence Force Merkava 2, 3 and 4 Main Battle Tanks, all mounting Explosive Reactive Armour (ERA). Of these missiles, at least 40 scored hits and 14 penetrated, mostly from the sides or rear, destroying the tanks and killing a significant number IDF tank crewmen.

None of the Merkavas were fitted with Rafael Trophy or Israel Military Industries Iron Fist armour protection systems, both of which remain in development (page 23, this issue).



Anti-tank weapons

Hezbollah’s most lethal anti-tank missiles were the Syrian-supplied Russian KBP laser beam-riding Kornet-E (AT-14) and wire-guided Metis-M (AT-13), both with tandem warheads designed to defeat both ERA and the steel armour beneath.

They also included older Konkurs (AT-5) and Fagot (AT-4) missiles supplied by Syria , as well as smaller numbers of Iranian-supplied Towsan-1 (a version of the AT-5) and Raad (a version of the Malyutka, or AT-3b) missiles, plus a few Euromissile Milans.

In addition to older versions of the shoulder-launched Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG), Hezbollah also used some of the latest Syrian-supplied Russian tandem-warhead Vampyr RPG-29s.

The Israeli Air Force (IAF) is still trying to determine what missile type was used by Hezbollah to shoot down an Israeli CH-53 helicopter on the evening of August 12, killing all five crewmen just after they had off-loaded troops deep in southern Lebanon. It may have been an anti-tank missile or, possibly, a Syrian-supplied SA-16 or SA-18 shoulder-fired Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM), manufactured in Russia .



Anti-ship missiles and UCAVs

Hezbollah also fired at least two Iranian-supplied Chinese C-802 (CSS-C-8 Saccade) shore-based anti-ship missiles, designated Noor in Iran , at the Israeli Navy Saar 5 class missile corvette Hanit. One of these damaged the Hanit amidships and at the front of the helicopter deck, killing one sailor and wounding four more. The other sank a nearby Egyptian merchant ship. The truck-launcher for the Noor carries three missiles.

Furthermore, Hezbollah has received up to eight canard-wing Ababil-3 (Swallow) Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles (UCAVs), produced by Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industries. The Ababil-3 carries an explosive payload of up to 40kg. Three were shot down at night by the IAF, with parts of one of them subsequently recovered.



Surface-to-surface rockets

In addition, Iran has supplied Hezbollah with a very large number of short-range 107mm Grad and 122mm Katyusha artillery rockets, with ranges of up to 20km. Iran has also supplied its 45km-range Fajr-3 and 75km-range Fajr-5, while Syria has provided its 100km-range Khaibar-1 rockets.

In all, some 3,970 of these rockets were fired into northern Israel during the five weeks of fighting. 126 of their launchers were destroyed, mostly by the IAF.

The most worrying surface-to-surface rocket in Hezbollah’s arsenal, however, has not yet been fired. This is the Zelzal-2, which Iran has admitted supplying. It has a range of at least 210km, putting Tel Aviv at risk. Although the IAF destroyed some launchers, Hezbollah is believed to still have at least one battery of Zelzal-2s.

cheers,
Pyros