BEIRUT, Lebanon — A missile fired by Hezbollah, not an unmanned drone laden with explosives, damaged an Israeli warship off Lebanon, the army said Saturday.
The attack on Friday night had raised widespread concern in the Israeli military because initial information indicated that the guerrillas had used a drone for the first time to attack Israeli forces.
But the army's investigation into the attack, which left four Israeli sailors missing, showed that Hezbollah had fired an Iranian-made missile at the vessel from the shores of Lebanon, said Brig. Gen. Ido Nehushtan.
"We can confirm that it was hit by an Iranian-made missile launched by Hezbollah. We see this as very profound fingerprint of Iranian involvement in Hezbollah," Nehushtan said in an interview with The Associated Press.
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If this is so, it points probably towards a shore launched C-802 missile, or perhaps a shorter range C-701. Either way it is a huge development, and a huge naval war event...as well as a significant escalation.
Before yesterday, most would have laid odds that a ship with the capability of the Saar 5 would have been able to defend itself against several such missiles, let alone a single one.
This is a huge coup for Hezbollah and Iran and vindicates the Chinese technology. I will also represent a much increased threat against US and its allies vessels in the Gulf since this is exactly the threat envrionment they will face.
It is yet to be seen how this threat will play out against the SAEGIS system, which is more capable than that of the Saar 5 and was also designed precisely to defend against these attacks.
I now understand that two of the bodies of the four IDF sailors have been recovered.
Here's a pic of the Saar 5:
The attack on Friday night had raised widespread concern in the Israeli military because initial information indicated that the guerrillas had used a drone for the first time to attack Israeli forces.
But the army's investigation into the attack, which left four Israeli sailors missing, showed that Hezbollah had fired an Iranian-made missile at the vessel from the shores of Lebanon, said Brig. Gen. Ido Nehushtan.
"We can confirm that it was hit by an Iranian-made missile launched by Hezbollah. We see this as very profound fingerprint of Iranian involvement in Hezbollah," Nehushtan said in an interview with The Associated Press.
-----------------------------------------------------
If this is so, it points probably towards a shore launched C-802 missile, or perhaps a shorter range C-701. Either way it is a huge development, and a huge naval war event...as well as a significant escalation.
Before yesterday, most would have laid odds that a ship with the capability of the Saar 5 would have been able to defend itself against several such missiles, let alone a single one.
This is a huge coup for Hezbollah and Iran and vindicates the Chinese technology. I will also represent a much increased threat against US and its allies vessels in the Gulf since this is exactly the threat envrionment they will face.
It is yet to be seen how this threat will play out against the SAEGIS system, which is more capable than that of the Saar 5 and was also designed precisely to defend against these attacks.
I now understand that two of the bodies of the four IDF sailors have been recovered.
Here's a pic of the Saar 5:
