Sa'ar 5 Eilat Class Missile Corvette hit
The recent news on the Lebanonese front has led people to overlook the Israeli vessel which was damaged with four deaths. Now, the details are coming out.
Amazing! The Israeli vessel that suffered a missile strike was apparently a highly advanced Sa'ar 5 Eilat-class missile corvette. Sa'ar 5 no less! Not a Sa'ar 1, 2, 3, 4 or 4.5. A Sa'ar 5! Astounding. The Sa'ar 5 Eilat-class missile corvette hit was the IN Hanit.
It was reported that in an article from Jane's that the "warhead of the Iranian-supplied Noor anti-ship cruise missile (ASCM) that hit Hanit off Lebanon on 14 July did not detonate. Even so, the missile - fired by Hizbollah forces - killed four crew and inflicted severe damage to the ship's flight deck and steering systems."
It is not in question that the missile was launched from a shore-based launcher, not unlike the land-based 'Silkworm' (Styx) SSMs used by the Iraqis. Now, new questions arise. How was the surface search conducted? What of target acquisition?
The Israelis cited an intelligence failure. It is not unlikely that the IN Hanit had detected the signal from the acquisition radar and had not responded as they either regarded the signal as unfamiliar or that the vessel regarded that it was not possible that the Hizbollah would possess such a weapon system.
It is ironic that the Israeli navy lost a destroyer named the Eilat a few decades ago to a Styx SSM.
More information on Jane's website indicated the following:
It was a "C-802 Noor (Tondar) radar-guided anti-ship missile..."
and
"The Noor, based on the Chinese C-802, was reported to have a 200 km range during manoeuvres conducted by the Iranian Navy in April 2005."
It is also noted that the various anti-missile CIWS were either inoperative or not activated.
"An initial debrief of the incident suggested that the Hanit was sailing without fully activating its Barak-point defence system. For other, undisclosed reasons, the Hanit's electronic countermeasures and electronic support measures, as well as the Vulcan Phalanx close-in weapon system failed to block or intercept the missile. "
If the C-802 Silkworm is the Chinese version of the 'Styx' with a 454kg HE hollow charge, why is the IN Hanit still afloat? Oh yes, I remember now, the 400-500kg warhead of the 2,300 kg missile didn't detonate.
The Israelis must be complacent as they had defeated the Arabs with their Styx-armed Komar class vessels in the seventies using shorter ranged Gabriel SSMs and terrain to mask their radar signatures. This time, the tables are turned as the Israelis are approaching from the sea and thus. The radar returns of the Styx or Silkworm should be familiar enough.
Besides the Iraqi and Iranian navies are known for their Silkworm arsenals. It is a wonder what the Syrians and Iranians are arming the Hizbollah.
6 comments:
Israel cannot affort to be complacent at all.
I am not suprised at all if Iran & Syria etc are behind the arm supply and they might even supply them troops hiding amongst the civilians.
Israel must improve their intelligence or they will suffer in the next big conflict.
Syrian fighters have shown up in Iraq time and again. It is not surprising if they were found amongst the Hizbollah.
As for Silkworms/C-802 SSMs, the Iranians are known users. I bet the Chinese must be raking with arms sales to these states.
Yes, you are right about the Israelis improving their intelligence.
Ironically enough, the Israelis and the Chinese have worked on quite a number of arms development programmes previously and presently.
The entire operation by Israel seems sloppy. Bombing civilian buildings, the tank that hit a mine that helped spark the fighting, making slow progress against a under trained para-millitary force, still being hit by missiles even after 2 weeks of fighting, etc.
I think Hisbollah is trying to get Israel to bomb more of it's civilians in order to win the propaganda war. Bear in mind, they know Israel is going to bomb the area where they are hiding but yet they are so willing to hide amongst the civilian to the point of sacrificing the people just to win the propaganda war. In a way trying to turn themselves into the legitimate defender of the people against the aggressor Israel.
Also some of the Leaders (On BBC - Can't remember which one now) was actually avocating active breeding programme i.e. increase birth rate, as human population bomb. He (one of the radical leader) actually said they might not win win the War via weapon but human population would be one of their main weapon. See how many children they have?
The radical cleric also pointed to the fact that the West should fall with their population expansion programme.
Now, I don't know about you but during the Lebanon evacuation why on earth they had to evacate the Lebanese to Denmark? (I know some of them are dual nationality but in this case one of the evacuee clearly not able to speak Danish but was sent to Denmark? What on earth? Aren't they suppose to be shipped to their brother/sister neighbouring countries that speak and have the same culture?
Scandinavian nations might be civilised but their combine population is only 26 million and if they keep absorbing this middle eastern people they will be in deep trouble in the long run socially.
d;-(
Anonymous, in terms of demographics, you are right. France, the UK and a few other nations have a size-able number of Muslims they are increasing disproporationately. Will they be a significant influence on public policy making now and in future? Yes.
Meanwhile, the Turkish population in Germany is getting larger.
The fact is that these new immigrants often do not attempt to integrate but instead, form their own distinct, separate community.
John, it appears sloppy but it would appear that many Lebanonese are not evacuating from the combat zone despite being advised to. And the Hizbollah do launch rockets from residential areas and religious sites.
I think the media coverage has been totally biased and one-sided.
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