According to Israeli military officials, it is used Hezbollah Lebanon launched an advanced missile against Israel that was reverse engineered from… Israeli weapon Captured in a previous war.
Israeli and Western defense officials and weapons experts believe Hezbollah fighters captured the missiles.Spike“The original Israeli anti-tank tank during The war between Israel and Hezbollah 2006 in Lebanon They shipped it to Iran for cloning.
After 18 years, Hezbollah fires missiles.”diamond” on Israeli military bases Communications systems and air defense launchers with sufficient accuracy and power to pose a major challenge to the Israeli military forces.
The missiles have a range of up to 16 kilometers, and carry two advanced guidance search devices to track and identify targets.
The resurrection Iran And its proxy forces cloning weapons systems for use against adversaries who designed them is nothing new. For example, Iran has copied… Drones And American missiles.
But the Almas missile is an example of the growing use of Iranian-made weapons that is “fundamentally changing regional power dynamics,” according to Mohammed Al-Basha, a Middle East weapons analyst who runs a risk consulting firm based in Virginia.
“What was previously a gradual deployment of older missile generations has turned into a rapid deployment of cutting-edge technology across active battlefields,” Al-Basha said last week, according to the New York Times.
The Israeli defense officials, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence, said the Almas missiles are among Hezbollah weapons stockpiles seized by Israeli forces since the start of their invasion of Lebanon about two months ago.
Almas missiles have emerged as one of the most advanced weapons among a large cache of mostly low-quality munitions, including missiles.Cornet“Russian anti-tank.
that Diamond missile It is a guided missile that does not require a direct line of sight to be launched from ground vehicles, drones, helicopters, and shoulder-fired missiles. It is a “top attack” missile, meaning its ballistic trajectory can hit its targets from directly above rather than from the side, hitting tanks where they are lightly armored and vulnerable.
Israeli defense officials said that the “Almas” missile threatened Israeli units and equipment near the Lebanese border.
The American newspaper “The Wall Street Journal” had previously reported that among Hezbollah weapons The new, more dangerous, Iranian-made anti-tank guided missile called “Almas” gives Hezbollah a higher degree of accuracy in its strikes compared to when it last fought a war with Israel in 2006.
An analysis in April by the Alma Center for Research and Education, which studies security issues on Israel’s northern border, said: “It is highly likely that weapons from the current and future Almas family of missiles will be deployed across all fronts where they are present.” Iranian agents“The missiles will threaten a variety of high-quality targets (not just Israeli) at an increasing range.”
There are at least 3 known types of Almas missiles, each one developed from the previous one. In June, security researchers at the Alma Research Center in Israel said Hezbollah appeared to be using a newer 4G, which, among other improvements, sends clearer images of its trajectory to its operators.
According to CAT-UXO, a munitions awareness group, Almas missiles can carry two types of munitions: WarheadsOne of them can explode in two stages, making it easier to penetrate armor. The other type is an air fuel bomb that explodes in the form of a fireball.
According to Israeli defense officials, Hezbollah is now manufacturing “Almas” missiles in Lebanon to reduce its dependence on Iranian supply chains. The missiles are also believed to be produced in Iran for the Iranian army.
Weapons experts said that Almas was seen publicly in 2020 during the manufacturer’s delivery of newly produced drones to the Iranian army. And revealed Iranian army About the missile being launched during a military exercise in 2021.
But reports of diamonds being used in combat only emerged earlier this year, in attacks on… Israel Hezbollah appears to have carried them all out, according to researchers from Jane’s, the British-based defense intelligence organisation.
In January, Hezbollah released a video of a strike on the Israeli naval base at Ras Naqoura, on the border with Lebanon, saying it used a diamond missile.
