Special Hezbollah units in Iran have successfully launched and tested a new Iranian missile “Fatah 110,” according to a report over the weekend by Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Rai, Israeli Channel 2 news reported.
Hezbollah Successfully Tests New Missile in Iran
Ahlul Bayt News Agency ; Special Hezbollah units in Iran have successfully launched and tested a new Iranian missile “Fatah 110,” according to a report over the weekend by Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Rai, Israeli Channel 2 news reported.
According to the report, the Iranian missile, which was displayed with great pride in Tehran less than a month ago, has a maximum range of 200 kilometers. This means it is capable of reaching occupied Jerusalem and Ashdod if it was to be launched from the Occupied Palestine-Lebanon border. The Kuwait newspaper said the test launches took place in Iran since such an event could not take place in Lebanon.
“The test was successful and part of the units which participated returned to their bases in Lebanon,” unidentified officials told Al-Rai. Hezbollah has formulated a “bank of targets” in Israel such as “power stations and sensitive institutions” across the country, the sources added.
According to figures publicized in August in an Iranian broadcast in English, the missile is 9 meters in length and weighs 3,500 kilograms. It is powered by solid fuel propellant and is the third version
What about the launchers of this missile? Presumably the israeli air force could bomb the launchers and render the missile inoperable?
robert
@robert: yes, absolutely, but considering Hezbollah’s highly successful record in concealing such missiles and creating fake targets this would not be easy. But yes, that would be the likely Israeli plan.
Well I’m all in favour of anything that makes another Israeli attack on Syria or Lebanon prohibitively expensive. What’s left of Palestine remains defenseless however. Can’t see any way of smuggling this kind of weapon into Gaza or the West Bank.
@anonymous: true, but at this in any case not the kind of weapon which could/should be launched from Gaza or the West Bank. What they would need in Gaza are MANPADs. And as for the West Bank, its Fatah-occupied territory so, sadly, there is no point in getting weapons there anyway.
Saker,
Regarding the Fatah 110, how effective would they be in Hezbollah’s hands? How would you deploy those rockets in Hezb’s situation? My hope is that they eventually find a rocket that is accurate enough to target IAF runways and cheap and simple enough to be fired in large numbers over a long period of time. do you think the Fatah 110s fit that bill?
Same for the p-800s. How effective would they be against Israeli ships trying to blockade or bombard the Lebanese coastline?
Thanks!
@Lysander: the Fateh 110 is a solid fuel missile which means that it is much faster to ready and fire than a liquid fueled missile. Its 200km range is also a big plus, at least compared to the old katiushas. The Iranians claim “”exceptional accuracy” but I don’t know what the actual figure is, nor I am certain what kind of trajectory control or guidance input are deployed on it. My guess is that the warhead could be big enough to accommodate both high-explosive or a cluster warhead which can be effective against airfields. One source claims a 200-250 kg warhead and a CEP of <100. That sounds reasonable to me.
Much more is known about the P-800: it is a formidable weapon, with a range up to 300km and a huge 300 warhead. It is very fast (2,5 times the speed of sound) and if flies just over the water (5m high). That means that once it is over the horizon the attacked ship has only seconds to fire at a very low angle. The P-800 has an advanced guidance system, highly resistant to jamming, which works in passive and active modes. While Hezbollah does not have the means to target ships beyond the horizon, it could basically prevent any ship from getting near the Lebanese coast. Truly a formidable weapon if used skillfully.