Security

Hezbollah Aims for Anti-Aircraft Missile Upgrade?

Israel pretty much owned the skies over Lebanon, during its 2006 war with Hezbollah. The Middle Eastern media is filled with conflicting reports that the terror group may be trying to reverse that advantage, with advanced anti-aircraft missiles. The operative words here being "may be." Hezbollah is planning to take "practical measures" that will "will […]

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Israel pretty much owned the skies over Lebanon, during its 2006 war with Hezbollah. The Middle Eastern media is filled with conflicting reports that the terror group may be trying to reverse that advantage, with advanced anti-aircraft missiles. The operative words here being "may be."

Hezbollah is planning to take "practical measures" that will "will force Israel to cease" to air force overflights of Lebanon, according to the Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar, which is considered sympathetic to the Shi'ite group. "The report is in line with Israeli intelligence assessments," Ha'Aretz, the Israeli newspaper, claims. Maybe.

Which missiles in particular Israel is worried about has not been publicized. But in 2005, when Russia was reportedly about to sell [portable, shoulder-launched] SA-18 missiles to Syria, Israel protested vehemently, on the grounds that such missiles can easily be removed from their carriers, making them highly suitable for use by terrorist organizations such as Hezbollah.

Ha'Aretz adds in a separate story that smuggling in the anti-aircraft missiles "would not be difficult"
for Hezbollah, "given the massive quantities of rockets and antitank missiles it has already succeeded in bringing in from Syria."

It should be noted, however, that the Israeli Air Force has already had success against Syria's most advanced air defense systems. And Ha'Aretz
admits, in a third piece, that its far from clear whether "Hezbollah has already smuggled in such missiles, or is merely seeking to do so."

Senior General Staff officers opined recently that while Hezbollah clearly wants such missiles eventually, they doubt it is interested in heating up its conflict with Israel just now.

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