Metis-M & Kornet AT Missiles vs. Merkava Tanks

[Pyros]

Hi,

copy/paste from Military Procurement International Vol. 16, No. 17, September 1, 2006

Hezbollah’s arsenal


During the 33 days of fighting that ended – at least temporarily – in South Lebanon on August 14, the Shi’ite Hezbollah fired more than 500 anti-tank missiles against Israel Defence Force Merkava 2, 3 and 4 Main Battle Tanks, all mounting Explosive Reactive Armour (ERA). Of these missiles, at least 40 scored hits and 14 penetrated, mostly from the sides or rear, destroying the tanks and killing a significant number IDF tank crewmen.

None of the Merkavas were fitted with Rafael Trophy or Israel Military Industries Iron Fist armour protection systems, both of which remain in development (page 23, this issue).



Anti-tank weapons

Hezbollah’s most lethal anti-tank missiles were the Syrian-supplied Russian KBP laser beam-riding Kornet-E (AT-14) and wire-guided Metis-M (AT-13), both with tandem warheads designed to defeat both ERA and the steel armour beneath.

They also included older Konkurs (AT-5) and Fagot (AT-4) missiles supplied by Syria , as well as smaller numbers of Iranian-supplied Towsan-1 (a version of the AT-5) and Raad (a version of the Malyutka, or AT-3b) missiles, plus a few Euromissile Milans.

In addition to older versions of the shoulder-launched Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG), Hezbollah also used some of the latest Syrian-supplied Russian tandem-warhead Vampyr RPG-29s.

The Israeli Air Force (IAF) is still trying to determine what missile type was used by Hezbollah to shoot down an Israeli CH-53 helicopter on the evening of August 12, killing all five crewmen just after they had off-loaded troops deep in southern Lebanon. It may have been an anti-tank missile or, possibly, a Syrian-supplied SA-16 or SA-18 shoulder-fired Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM), manufactured in Russia .



Anti-ship missiles and UCAVs

Hezbollah also fired at least two Iranian-supplied Chinese C-802 (CSS-C-8 Saccade) shore-based anti-ship missiles, designated Noor in Iran , at the Israeli Navy Saar 5 class missile corvette Hanit. One of these damaged the Hanit amidships and at the front of the helicopter deck, killing one sailor and wounding four more. The other sank a nearby Egyptian merchant ship. The truck-launcher for the Noor carries three missiles.

Furthermore, Hezbollah has received up to eight canard-wing Ababil-3 (Swallow) Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles (UCAVs), produced by Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industries. The Ababil-3 carries an explosive payload of up to 40kg. Three were shot down at night by the IAF, with parts of one of them subsequently recovered.



Surface-to-surface rockets

In addition, Iran has supplied Hezbollah with a very large number of short-range 107mm Grad and 122mm Katyusha artillery rockets, with ranges of up to 20km. Iran has also supplied its 45km-range Fajr-3 and 75km-range Fajr-5, while Syria has provided its 100km-range Khaibar-1 rockets.

In all, some 3,970 of these rockets were fired into northern Israel during the five weeks of fighting. 126 of their launchers were destroyed, mostly by the IAF.

The most worrying surface-to-surface rocket in Hezbollah’s arsenal, however, has not yet been fired. This is the Zelzal-2, which Iran has admitted supplying. It has a range of at least 210km, putting Tel Aviv at risk. Although the IAF destroyed some launchers, Hezbollah is believed to still have at least one battery of Zelzal-2s.

cheers,
Pyros

[Sewter]

Here are some interesting figures, my friends.

* 33 days of fighting
* Israeli casualties: 119 servicemen, 41 civilians
* Lebanese casualties: At least 900 civilians and 500 Hizbullah fighters
* Rockets fired on Israel: 3,970
* Israel Air Force sorties: 15,500
* Targets struck in Lebanon: 7,000
* Hizbullah rocket launchers destroyed: 126
* Israeli MBTs destroyed: 20 (6 to mines and 14 to ATGMs - they were all Merkava Mk 2,3 or 4s)
* IAF aircraft shot down: 1
* IAF aircraft lost in accidents: 4
* Israel Navy operational hours: 8,000
* IDF Artillery shells fired: more than 100,000

"The anti-tank threat emerged as the most serious challenge to the IDF. Operating Kornet-E and Metis-M anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs), Hizbullah successfully destroyed 14 Israeli Merkava Mk 2, 3 and 4 main battle tanks (MBTs). In response, the Israeli MoD has ordered Rafael Armament Development Authority to accelerate preparations for production of its Trophy active protection system (APS) for future IDF procurement. Israel Military Industries (IMI) has also been asked to complete development of its APS, dubbed Iron Fist, for IDF evaluation."

info:
'JANE'S DEFENCE WEEKLY - AUGUST 23, 2006'

These are somber statistics. We shall be met with more information as the time passes. Hizbullah has been using what are often called 'tank-sniper' units for sometime with lethal success. The United States has been met with such tactics in Iraq, often with late model coldwar era RPG.s. Remember, it was a 1.6lb he warhead (bazooka/M6) that brought down the venerable Tiger tank. War is burning hot and freezing cold...and all suffer...tragically.

[Pazam]

Hey Pyros,

Just a small correction to your post - none of the Merkava tanks use ERA plates. The Magach tanks [specifically the 6] does have ERA and Israel I believe was the first user of ERA, but the Merkava series from 1 to 4 does not. This is easily confirmed by pretty much any resource that describes the Merkava.

[JaM]

Merkava done use Explosive Reactive armor but NERA - nonexplosive reactive armor. Mk3 Dor Dalet and Mk4. Older used spaced and composite armor.

[PlasmaKrab]

If you dig a bit further into it, I think you will find that NERA is another (commercial) name for a type of composite armor also called bulging armor, which uses a layer of soft non-metallic material (e.g. rubber) to the same effect as the original explosive layer (i.e. expanding after the impact and displacing the outer metallic plate).
Since it is advertised diversely as new-generation ERA and advanced passive armor, that can cause a confusion in some sources.
More technical discussion and references here.

[serg3d]

You can find of the net the recent photo of Merkava 4 hit by AT missile into turret. Ruptured layer of armor is looking not like ERA, but like NERA - outer metall tiles bend outward and some white powedery substance spilling out.

[Pazam]

Do you have a link to a photo of that?