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Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Israeli Intel ups estimate of Zelzal missiles
2006-07-28
DEBKAfile Exclusive: Israeli intelligence ups estimate of Hizballah stock of Zelzal-2 missiles whose 250km range covers Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Israeli army chiefs fear that Hassan Nasrallah, having received the nod from Tehran Wednesday, will start firing them at central Israel over the weekend.

Although the Israeli air force has destroyed some of these missiles which carry a 600 kilo payload, several dozen still remain. Thursday night and Friday morning, July 28, Israeli bombers struck Hizballah locations in the northern Beqaa Valley where the Zelzal-2 missiles are stored.
Beqaa Valley, suspected location of smuggled Iraqi WMDs
DEBKAfileÂ’s military sources add: The Israeli army discovered the 3.5-on, 8.46 meters long missiles were stored in buildings with strengthened floors and walls to carry their weight, their roofs removed and replaced with makeshift coverings such as branches and twigs. These coverings are dense enough to block the missiles from the view of Israeli aircraft but are easily removable to enable the rapid launch of the Zelzal from inside the building where it is stored.
Should be able to "see" through these maksshift roofs with IR sensors
The warning by IsraelÂ’s generals about the ZelzalÂ’s deployment also applies to the Mohajer-4, a pilotless aircraft packed with explosives. In November 2004 and April 2005, this Iranian drone penetrated Israeli airspace undetected.
Posted by:Steve

#17  I can't help thinking that these missiles have a RF resonate frequency that could be exploited in some way to cause internal arcing.
Posted by: 3dc   2006-07-28 20:29  

#16  FROG-7

mullah-TOAD-#10
Posted by: RD   2006-07-28 16:58  

#15  " Just for information, the FROG-7 has an over-short record of about 3km, and a CEP of 2km. I'm not sure what an Iranian missile would do. It could be aimed at Tel Aviv and hit Damascus, for all I know..."

Not a chance .
Like i said in beginning i was pessimist of Israel capabilities (Will and Quality of it's Political/Military establishement upper echelons) . I mantain my judgement.

Posted by: Clerert Uneamp2772   2006-07-28 14:41  

#14  Just for information, the FROG-7 has an over-short record of about 3km, and a CEP of 2km. I'm not sure what an Iranian missile would do. It could be aimed at Tel Aviv and hit Damascus, for all I know...
Posted by: Old Patriot   2006-07-28 14:35  

#13  FROG-7, thanks Steve.
Posted by: 6   2006-07-28 13:53  

#12  pay 50% of their harvest to the Muslims
The origin of jizya.

Patriots are short range. While they can protect a base or important cities like Tel Aviv, Haifa or Jerusalem, the Israelis don't have enough to cover the whole of the opulation. Besides, from Desert Storm, it was determined the missiles did little damage, much less than the $3 million each PAC-3 missile costs. So protect strategic and economic assets like refineries and $2 billion semiconductor fabs. The rest have to take their chances. It's up to the Israeli military has to go on the offensive to destroy those missiles and retaliate against those who support or tolerate these missile attacks.
Posted by: ed   2006-07-28 13:20  

#11  From Wikipedia: Zelzal-2
Type short-range ballistic rocket
Range 210 km (120 miles)
Warheads one
Propulsion Solid
Guidance system none
Length 16 m
Diameter 0.61 m
Weight 3,545 kg
Payload 600 kg
Manufacturer Iran
In service 1993
States Iran

Zelzal-2 ("Earthquake-2") is a short-range ballistic rocket developed by Iran. It is apparently unguided or possessed of only a rudimentary guidance system. It is apparently an Iranian version of the Soviet Luna-M missile (NATO name: FROG-7) whose launcher is based on the MB LA-911 truck. The development program apparently began in the early 1990s.
Posted by: Steve   2006-07-28 13:17  

#10  The larger missiles could be hit, this appears to be just a bigger rocket:

Last month, the London Sunday Times reported that Iran has deployed Zelzal-2 "ballistic missiles" in Lebanon, capable of "carrying half a ton of chemical or conventional warheads as far as Tel Aviv."9 However, the paper's sensationalist reporting on Mideast military topics does not have a very accurate track record, particularly when it cites unnamed defense sources.

The Zelzal-2, in any case, is not a missile, but a 610mm heavy artillery rocket with a 1323 lb (600 kg) payload and range of 130 miles (210 km). The rocket wouldn't quite be able to hit Tel Aviv unless launched from easily-detectable positions straddling the border, but would nevertheless pose an enormous threat to Israeli population centers.
Posted by: Steve   2006-07-28 13:13  

#9  yes.
Posted by: anymouse   2006-07-28 13:07  

#8  To the mili-techies:

Wouldn't Patriot missiles stand a better chance of intercepting these longer range missiles?
Posted by: PlanetDan   2006-07-28 12:23  

#7  In the time of Muhammad, Khaibar was a fertile oasis in the Arabian desert. It was populated by Jews, who maintained its irrigation systems and lived off its produce. When Muhammad conquered the oasis in 628, the Jews who lived there managed to negotiate a surrender. The conditions of their surrender were that some of them could remain to tend the date palms and gardens, but in return they had to pay 50% of their harvest to the Muslims. The land itself would henceforth belong to the Muslim community. The Jews of Khaibar were also granted permission to keep practising their faith. Soon after, the Arab Christians of Najran were forced to accept the same conditions.

The right of the Jews of Khaibar to stay on their former lands was a temporary concession, withdrawn in 640 by Umar, in obedience to Muhammad’s dying wish: ‘Two religions shall not remain together in the peninsula of the Arabs’. In this same year the whole of Arabia was cleansed of non-Muslims.

from: http://answering-islam.org.uk/Terrorism/khaibar.html
Posted by: mhw   2006-07-28 12:20  

#6  pants down
Posted by: Clerert Uneamp2772   2006-07-28 12:01  

#5  Perhaps it has just been renamed by the Hezbollah terrs and is either a Naze'at (FROG variants), Mushak, or Zelzal.

Think you're right, Whuck

Hezbollah announced it used a new rocket, the Khaibar-1 – named after a famed battle between Islam’s prophet Muhammad and Jewish tribes in the Arabian peninsula – to strike at the Israeli town of Afula, its deepest yet into Israel.

Just slapped a new name on an old missile
Posted by: Steve   2006-07-28 11:49  

#4  If Hezb is going to use them, they will try to fire a big volley beginning in a few hours to coincide with the jewish sabbath.

It would be a real shame if they accidentally hit a mosque by mistake.
Posted by: mhw   2006-07-28 11:04  

#3  It's not listed at the GlobalSecurity site. Perhaps it has just been renamed by the Hezbollah terrs and is either a Naze'at (FROG variants), Mushak, or Zelzal.

The city Hezbollah claims to have hit is Afoula. Fox is now not actually confirming the missile or the hit, contrary to the first reports.

Maybe it's just BS - sorry.
Posted by: Whuck Shomomp2251   2006-07-28 10:39  

#2  Fox just reported they fired a new missile, a Khaibar-1, and hit a city south of Haifa...
Posted by: Whuck Shomomp2251   2006-07-28 10:28  

#1  Badanov, which FROG is this?
600 kilo payload
?
Posted by: 6   2006-07-28 10:12  

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