Posted on 08/11/2006 6:05:24 AM PDT by APRPEH
Thanks for the answer.
The international weapons market is a dirty business.
I believe the US has sold M1A1 to Egypt, and M1A2's to Kuwait and Saudi.
It's not out of the realm of possibility that within a few years we will see Abram tanks facing off against Merkavas.
*shakes head*
http://www.aeronautics.ru/nws002/reuters037.htm
Iran Begins Batch Production of Russian Anti-Tank Missile |
9M113 Konkurs ATGM |
"Iran has begun to batch produce Russian-developed antitank missile 9M113 Konkurs (NATO designation: AT-5 Spandrel) on a mass scale.
This inexpensive missile can be launched autonomously or from mobile and portable anti-tank missile systems mounted on many types of vehicles, a military-industry official told Itar-Tass on Wednesday.
The missile Konkurs has been devised at the Tula-based instrument-making design bureau and has a range of fire from 75 meters to 4 kilometers in the daytime and up to 2.5 km at night. The missile warhead pierces armor up to 800 mm thick.
The Konkurs missile has a semi-automatic control system with the transmission of commands via the wire communication line.
A license for the production of the missile Konkurs was sold to Iran way back in the middle of the 1990s but it is only now that Iranian specialists have completed all work to try out the missile production technology and set up a quantity production line, the official emphasized.
The military-industry official declined to give the cost of the deal for the sale of the license for the production of the missile to Iran but pointed out that the missile "was sold through the Rosvooruzhenie company for very little money, since a military-technical cooperation system in Russia was only in the making in those years".
(source: Reuters, 01-20-00)
This screams of "saving face". Pulling back now will be an utter catastrophe. The morale boost for Syria and Iran will be stratospheric if they realize they can neutralize Israel with stinkin' HEZBOLLAH. It will give them ample time to position their little chess pieces and strangle Israel while completing their nuclear program.
I think a coup within the military is not out of the question, and Olmert's government could be tossed out, too.
A damaged tank can often be recovered & repaired. The IDF will put many of these hulls back into action eventually.
My first reaction, too.
For every rocket, give them a half mile of rubble.
This is actually extremely serious.
We used to say that only the Abrams, the British Challenger and the Merkava were impervious to attack except for really large IEDs and direct fire artillery rounds.
We used to say that the Abrams, the Challenger and the Merkava could drive down any street in the Middle East and not have much to fear.
Well that major advantage is now gone. The terrorists have access to the very best anti-tank missiles. Won't be the same from now on (until we have even better armor on our tanks, which make take a really long time.)
'We should give the Israelies some M-1A2s.'
No, the brits should sell them some Challenger 2's - the best armoured tank in NATO. The M1A2 uses the original British Chobham armour which is very good, but the Challenger 2 uses 2nd generation chobham which is even better. If someones shooting at you, you want to be in a Challenger!
http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/row/challenger2.htm
http://www.fprado.com/armorsite/abrams.htm
The 9M113 Konkurs is a nasty anti-tank weapon, and really concerns the US. Unlike in America, the Russian government does not have tight controls on arms deals. Add to that a very corrupt customs, and the problem should be obvious to all.
Don't forget they are also slowly neutralizing the US in Iraq, as that country moves inexorably toward a civil war in which Syria gets the Sunni section and Iran the Shiite section. After that, the Saudis and Kuwaitis fall, and then the rest of the ME.
It will make Barbary look like kid's stuff. Sadr and Nasrallah may emerge as the greatest pirates in history.
The information in this article dumbfounds me. Keep in mind that it's attributed to unnamed "Israeli officials." While there were no doubt losses, if the Hizzies are knocking out so many tanks, why haven't there been pictures of burning tanks all over the Net?
>>Is Hezbollah using wire guided Sagger missiles against IDF tanks?
Yes, and against infantry, from some things I've read.
Yes, Defensive weapons, hide behind buildings and such, take out a tank and hide again for another day. With correct offensive tactics can be overcome but expect some losses. This may set Isreal on a path to develop a class of heavy tanks more designed to take on close quarter fighting....we'll see.
Good tactics can always overcome superior technology. I don't know who said it, but it is true.
When their oil runs out, they will have wasted all of their wealth on blowing things up and will have left a desert wasteland to their children.
In the meantime, the westerners are offsetting the cost of the oil by producing weapons for the Iranians to buy.
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