Israeli military facilities were attacked by Hezbollah with Almas missiles, which Iran copied from Tel Aviv's Spike line by reverse engineering.
On January 26, the Hezbollah force in Lebanon posted a video of launching missiles at an Israeli military "reconnaissance base" near the border between the two countries. Video captured by a camera mounted on the projectile shows the missile being launched toward a facility with many tall towers in the mountain, then crashing straight into the dome-shaped structure.
Based on the information in the video, military expert Tyler Rogoway determined that the projectile used by Hezbollah in the raid was Iran's Almas anti-tank guided missile (ATGM). The special thing is that this weapon was made by Tehran by copying the ATGM Spike line produced by Israel itself.
“Hezbollah captured a number of Spike missiles during the conflict with Israel in 2006 and transferred them to Iran. This country then applied reverse engineering to develop the Almas missile," the expert said.
Hezbollah launched missiles to attack Israeli targets in a video posted on January 26. Video: Hezbollah
Introduced in the 1980s, Spike is an ATGM line equipped with a dual-dose HEAT warhead to deal with armor equipped with explosive reactive armor or other fortified targets. This type of missile can be fired from helicopters, motor vehicles, warships or launch tubes carried by infantry crews.
The largest and longest-range version today is Spike NLOS with a range of 32 km when launched from the ground and 50 km if fired from a high-flying helicopter.
At the time of launch, the Spike missile was highly appreciated for its ability to lock on target after launch (LOAL), allowing it to attack targets that are out of direct line of sight such as objects hidden behind obstacles, as well as like changing targets on the fly.
Most Spike variants are connected to the launcher via a thin cable attached to the tail of the rocket, while other versions, such as the Spike NLOS rangefinder, use a wireless data link for reception. information from the shooter.
Almas rocket launcher. Image: Drive
According to Rogoway, the Almas missile was first announced by Iran in 2021, possesses the same operating principle as the Spike series and has many different versions, including hand-held, launched from ground vehicles or fired in the air. .
"Weapons like Almas will be a special challenge for the Israeli military, because it can attack targets that traditional ATGMs cannot, such as the sensor-filled observation tower in the video," Rogoway said.
Hezbollah is a force that controls part of the capital Beirut, southern Lebanon and most of the Beqaa valley. This organization also has political representation, holds seats in the Lebanese parliament and in the past few years has also controlled a number of ministries and government branches in this country with its allies. The Hezbollah force is said to possess quite modern military power, more "combatant" than many other armed groups in the Middle East, thanks to Iran's support for weapons.
Hezbollah regularly raided Israeli territory after the conflict in the Gaza Strip broke out in October 10, to show support for Hamas, an ally of the armed group. The Israeli army also repeatedly attacked Hezbollah targets in Lebanon in response to the group's military moves.
More than 190 people in Lebanon were killed after Israeli raids, including about 140 Hezbollah members. Israeli officials said 15 people in this country died in clashes with armed groups in the north, including 9 soldiers and 6 civilians.
Location of Lebanon and Israel. Graphics: AFP
Pham Giang (Follow Drive, Defense Post)
