Hizballah Brings out Iranian Silkworm to Hit Israel Navy Corvette

DEBKA file ^ | July 15, 2006, 1:37 PM (GMT+02:00) | DEBKAfile Exclusive Military Analysis

[Jeff Head]

Travis and several others (including myself) have been wanring about these possibilities for years. I pray we can avoid them...but they are very real, and very imminent.

[Frumious Bandersnatch]

Phalanx, anyone?

[Jeff Head]

The Saar 5 vessles are equiped with Phalannx.

The missile was giuded in, probably passively, from the stern. Probably came in low and fast, menaing there was a very short window of opportunity to engage, unless data linked sources caught the threat wwell in advance. Apparantly they didn;t and the vessel had no time to bring its systems, including the Phalanx, to bear.

[dennisw]

I do not believe the ChiComms are beset by any such notions. We are their target and they will bleed us until they think they can take us down IMHO

I can't think of one place on this planet where these bastards are bleeding. But they love seeing us bleed in Iraq and they love seeing us distracted by North Korea, Iran and Hugo Chavez. We have military all over this world. The ChiComs do a lot with a little. They don't send armies. Instead they send weapons trainers/advisors to Iran. ChiComs also send diplomats to negotiate long term oil contacts with Iran, Venezuela, some African countries and others. Thankfully the Chinese have near zero ability to refine heavy Venezuelan crude... so far

[Frumious Bandersnatch]

I see. Now that the Israelis know what they are up against, I expect it to be a lot harder for the Iranians to successfully attack them.

On another note, I bet the U.S. Navy is extremely interested in this.

[rahbert]

To me, the first ten seconds of the video show the
ship firing its main gun, not a missile strike.
You can see the smoke coming from the muzzle. Also
a warhead detonation would create more flash.

I think this video is labeled in error.

[kabar]

We don't need battleships to keep the Strait of Hormuz open.

[Jeff Head]

Agreed 100% on both counts...but if the Israelis has the Saar 5 vessel there in the waters near Lebannon, then that means they expected and wanted to be prepared for air attack. It came, and it was pointed at their most capable asset in that regard.

...and it mission killed it.

Everyone will be interested in this, the USN, our allies, the Iranians, the Russians, and the Chinese who developed the missile.

[sam_paine]

I realize that the guidance and payload (conventional/nuke) are not tubes like in the old Regulus.....but all this "advanced" weaponry of the China/Iran/etc set sure as hell looks like a 1960's Regulus II cruise missile to me!!!!

2006?

1959

MAKER: CHINA

TYPE: CRUISE MISSILE
LENGTH: 20 FEET 6 INCHES
SPAN: 9 FEET 2 INCHES
RANGE: 50 MILES
DIAMETER: 29.5 INCHES
WEIGHT: 5,500 POUNDS EMPTY
ENGINE: SOLID ROCKET BOOSTER - LIQUID ROCKET CRUISE
TOP SPEED: MACH 0.8
WEAPON LOAD: 852 POUNDS HIGH EXPLOSIVE

	XRSSM-N-9	XSSM-N-9 (RGM-15A)
Length (w/o pitot tube)	17.52 m (57 ft 6 in); incl. pitot tube: 19.53 m (64 ft 1 in)
Diameter	1.27 m (50 in)
Wingspan	6.12 m (20 ft 1 in)
Weight (w/o booster)	10400 kg (23000 lb); booster: 3170 kg (7000 lb)
Speed	Mach 1.8	Mach 2
Ceiling	14300 m (47000 ft)	18000 m (59000 ft)
Range	550 km (300 nm)	1850 km (1000 nm)
Propulsion	Cruise: Wright J65-W-6 turbojet; 65 kN (14600 lb) Booster: Aerojet General solid-fueled rocket; 511 kN (115000 lb)	Cruise: General Electric J79-GE-3 turbojet; 69 kN (15600 lb) Booster: Rocketdyne solid-fueled rocket; 600 kN (135000 lb)
Warhead	none	W-27 thermonuclear (2 MT)

[zarf]

Is there any military reason for allowing the Hiz-TV to still be broadcasting?

[zarf]

This is an example of how vulnerable our navy is too. Iran will do considerable damage to US naval forces when hell breaks loose.

US carriers will be targeted by long range missiles.

[Frumious Bandersnatch]

OTOH, this is, in a way much better news than originally reported. I was wondering why they couldn't take out a drone. Now that we know it was a Silkworm (or a derivative thereof), we have a reasonable explanation.

I would think that, after this experience, Israel runs with an enhanced CAP including AWACS. It might be hard to detect the missile, but it should be fairly easy to determine where it came from and, possibly, fire retaliatory attacks at the missile launch site before the missile reaches it's target.

Betcha the radar operators are more alert in the Israeli Navy too...

[Tinian]

To me, the first ten seconds of the video show the ship firing its main gun, not a missile strike. You can see the smoke coming from the muzzle. Also a warhead detonation would create more flash.

I think this video is labeled in error.

The video is kind of strange, though. I'd expect a missile impact to cause a much larger cloud of smoke. There are definitely two bursts of smoke and two reports, however, closer together than I'd expect that gun to be able to fire. And first reports said that the damage was light, the more serious damage to the steering only being discovered later. So I still don't know what to think.

[Jeff Head]

Heads are going to roll. Four sailors dead and one of their best AAW vessels mission killed. The fact it was there indicates the IDF was aware of and prepared for an AAW engagement.

If AWACS wasn;t already there, someone will pay. If the systems were not properly data linked, someone will pay, if the system was not properly deployed, someone will pay. Then the IDF, the USN, and all of our allies will learn from the experience. Trouble is, so are our enemies.

[sam_paine]

They may or may not value it, but I firmly believe that if they could bring about our demise by trashing the world economy, they would not think twice.

I agree that the Chinese would not "think twice" about the consequences of having the US fall.... However, culturally, there is no more 'conservative' society in the world. Chinese DO NOT like sudden change. They DO NOT like sudden economic disruptions, even if it were to eventually put them on top.

They like the status quo in Taiwan and North Korea. If it's gaining in their favor over decades, they're cool with that.

If you think our economy will be jolted by a Persian Gulf jolt, you can't imagine how precarious the Chinese economy is with a major disruption in oil supply right now.

The CCP cannot survive 1/2 a billion angry chinese middle classers in gas lines right now. (/my humble opinion)

[demkicker]

I hope so. This has been going on long enough. Time for Israel to end it before these terrorist nuts get a nuke.

[demkicker]

Before this is over, Israel will have to attack Iran directly using nukes.

The sooner the better, IMO.

[Frumious Bandersnatch]

Yes everyone will learn. Everyone, that is, except Hezbollah. Israel (and the U.S.) is exceptionally good at improvising (for examples, look at the '73 war in the Golan Heights where 140 tanks managed to stall an attack spearheaded by 1400 Syrian tanks).

From what I've seen, if a tactic works once for the Hezbollah or Hamas, they will try the same exact trick again. In fact, even if it never works again, they will continually try it anyway, because it worked once.

Considering the abysmal ignorance and total arrogance of these orgs, it is not at all surprising.

[sam_paine]

DOH!!! I hate it when I cross-link bad pix!!!

I realize that the guidance and payload (conventional/nuke) are not tubes like in the old Regulus.....but all this "advanced" weaponry of the China/Iran/etc set sure as hell looks like a 1960's Regulus II cruise missile to me!!!!

2006?

1959

MAKER: CHINA

TYPE: CRUISE MISSILE
LENGTH: 20 FEET 6 INCHES
SPAN: 9 FEET 2 INCHES
RANGE: 50 MILES
DIAMETER: 29.5 INCHES
WEIGHT: 5,500 POUNDS EMPTY
ENGINE: SOLID ROCKET BOOSTER - LIQUID ROCKET CRUISE
TOP SPEED: MACH 0.8
WEAPON LOAD: 852 POUNDS HIGH EXPLOSIVE

	XRSSM-N-9	XSSM-N-9 (RGM-15A)
Length (w/o pitot tube)	17.52 m (57 ft 6 in); incl. pitot tube: 19.53 m (64 ft 1 in)
Diameter	1.27 m (50 in)
Wingspan	6.12 m (20 ft 1 in)
Weight (w/o booster)	10400 kg (23000 lb); booster: 3170 kg (7000 lb)
Speed	Mach 1.8	Mach 2
Ceiling	14300 m (47000 ft)	18000 m (59000 ft)
Range	550 km (300 nm)	1850 km (1000 nm)
Propulsion	Cruise: Wright J65-W-6 turbojet; 65 kN (14600 lb) Booster: Aerojet General solid-fueled rocket; 511 kN (115000 lb)	Cruise: General Electric J79-GE-3 turbojet; 69 kN (15600 lb) Booster: Rocketdyne solid-fueled rocket; 600 kN (135000 lb)
Warhead	none	W-27 thermonuclear (2 MT)

[Mashood]

Phalanx probably was used, but its a last ditch weapon, has approx. 3-5 second response time before impact.