The Hezbollah anti-ship missile attack that hit the Israeli corvette INS Hanit on July 14 2006, is a sign that this Lebanon-based militia cannot be taken lightly in the use of long-range precision weapons. And when Israel continues to pound Gaza with the support of the United States, the potential for Hezbollah anti-ship missile attacks becomes a serious threat.
Especially for the US which has placed two aircraft carriers and a nuclear submarine in the Mediterranean Sea, the potential threat of anti-ship missile attacks launched from land cannot be underestimated.
Quoted by reuters.com (8/11/2023), it was stated that Hezbollah's possession of anti-ship missiles had become a direct threat to the US Fleet.
If Hezbollah's attack on the INS Hanit corvette in 2006 used anti-ship missiles (C-802 variant) made in China, then in current conditions, Hezbollah's anti-ship missile arsenal is much stronger, namely with the use of Russian-made anti-ship missiles, Yakhont – which is packaged in the K-300P Bastion coastal missile system.
Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah last week warned Washington that his group had plans for US ships to be deployed to the region since the war between Hamas and Israel erupted on October 7, 2023.
Two sources in Lebanon familiar with the Iran-backed group's arsenal said Hezbollah now has Russian-made 3M55E Yakhont missiles that have a range of 300 km. Media reports and analysts indicate that Hezbollah acquired Yakhont in Syria after being deployed there more than a decade ago to assist President Bashar al-Assad in the civil war.
Hezbollah considers US warships a direct threat because of their ability to attack the group and its allies. Nasrallah said in a speech on Friday that US warships in the Mediterranean Sea “do not scare us.”
Three current and one former US official say Hezbollah has built an impressive array of weapons, including anti-ship missiles. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to comment candidly on Hezbollah's capabilities.
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| Yakhont shooting pattern from land to sea |
Nasrallah on Friday warned Washington that preventing a regional war depended on stopping Israeli attacks. Hezbollah has exchanged fire with Israeli forces on the Lebanese border since October 8. This marks the most serious increase there since the 2006 war.
The Yakhont missile (P-800 Oniks) used by Hezbollah is the ground-launched variant – LACM (Land Attack Cruise Missile). As a cruise missile that can travel at supersonic speed, Yakhont can glide using a sea skimming pattern or fly at low altitude (3 – 4 meters above sea level) to avoid radar detection by opposing ships.
Moscow said in 2010 it had signed a deal to send Yakhont anti-ship cruise missiles to Damascus. The Yakhont LACM missile weighs 3 tons and can be loaded with a 200 kg warhead.
Quoted from defense-update.com (2/11/2011), Russia has supplied two Bastion coastal missile systems to Syria worth US$300 million which was signed with the Syrian government four years ago. Russian sources claim the new missile system will “allow Syria to protect its entire coast from possible sea attacks”.
The Bastion battery consists of 18 mobile launchers each carrying two 3M55E Yakhont supersonic cruise missiles capable of striking surface targets on land and sea at a range of 300 km. Given these parameters, such a missile could harm elements of the US Sixth Fleet patrolling the eastern Mediterranean, as well as Israeli naval vessels and Israeli offshore platforms.
The 3M55E Yakhont LACM weighs 3 tons and can be loaded with a warhead weighing 200 kg. This export variant of the cruise missile has a speed of Mach 2.6 and can reach targets beyond the horizon.