A lot has been written about Hezbollah’s monumental arsenal of surface-to-surface missiles and rockets and the devastation they might unleash in opposition to Israel. A current incident, nonetheless, briefly put the highlight on Hezbollah’s lesser-known air defenses.
After the Israeli Air Drive focused Hezbollah websites south of the Lebanese metropolis of Sidon, footage emerged purportedly displaying the stays of an Iranian-built Sayyad-2 surface-to-air missile. The Israeli navy said the Hezbollah websites focused “posed a menace to Israeli plane.”
Israeli media reported that the footage was “apparently the primary public proof suggesting that Hezbollah has such missiles,” as had been beforehand claimed. Hezbollah has traded tit-for-tat strikes with Israel since Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror assaults, however the air defenses counsel Israel’s Air Drive would face a a lot better menace over southern Lebanon than it has in Gaza’s skies.
The Sayyad-2 is a medium-range anti-aircraft missile Iran developed by closely reverse engineering the American RIM-66 Customary Missile, SM-1, Tehran acquired earlier than the 1979 revolution. The Sayyad-2 has a shorter vary than its successors. Probably the most superior, the Sayyad-4B, which Iran developed for its Bavar-373 air protection system, has an estimated vary of 186 miles.
In October, a Hezbollah-appointed information showcased among the group’s firepower to visiting journalists and hinted they’ve long-range air defenses just like the Russian S-300. “Do you suppose we do not have S-300?” he stated. “If Iran has S-300, completely Hezbollah will take S-300.”
It is unclear if Iran has tried to switch the Bavar-373, Iran’s domestically-developed equal to the S-300, to Hezbollah with its Sayyad 4/4B missiles.
“Hezbollah’s air protection capabilities are very opaque,” Nicholas Blanford, a non-resident senior fellow on the Atlantic Council and creator of the 2011 e-book “Warriors of God: Inside Hezbollah’s Thirty-12 months Battle Towards Israel,” instructed Enterprise Insider. “Extra is thought about different programs of their arsenal than air protection as a result of Hezbollah very not often makes use of it.”
“Nonetheless, if Iran possesses or can purchase an air protection system that fits Hezbollah’s wants, then it’s protected to imagine that Hezbollah most likely could have it,” Blanford stated.
The Hezbollah professional additionally famous that possession of missiles just like the Sayyad-2 “definitely raises the menace degree” to Israeli plane in comparison with shoulder-fired missiles. He additionally identified that Israel has “all the time maintained” that any Hezbollah acquisition of superior air protection programs quantities to a “crimson line.”
Since 2013, Israel has sustained an air marketing campaign in Syria concentrating on Iranian weapons shipments to Lebanon to stop Hezbollah from buying high-end programs. It has intensified this marketing campaign for the reason that Hamas 10/7 assaults, doubtless making it tougher than ever for Iran to switch weapons to Hezbollah by way of Syria. Throughout this marketing campaign, Israeli jets have evaded and, at occasions, destroyed Syria’s Russian-built quick and medium-range Tor and Pantsir air defenses.
The invention of the Sayyad-2 suggests Iran transferred not less than some anti-aircraft missiles to its most valued regional proxy.
“It has been reported that Hezbollah possesses Sayyad-2 anti-aircraft missiles beforehand, and the Israeli strike on Friday solidified these claims,” Freddy Khoueiry, a worldwide safety analyst for the Center East and North Africa on the threat intelligence firm RANE, instructed BI. “It was suspected that Hezbollah has been utilizing the Sayyad-2 to shoot down a few of Israel’s superior Hermes 900 drones over Lebanon.”
“Hezbollah has for the previous few years boasted of advancing its air-defensive capabilities, and the invention of Hezbollah’s possession of Sayyad-2 demonstrates how a lot they obtained superior anti-air programs,” Khoueiry stated.
Jalaa Marey/Getty Photos
Israel has expertise destroying formidable air defenses in Lebanon. When it invaded the nation in 1982, it launched a coordinated, large-scale suppression of enemy air protection operation in opposition to an array of Soviet-built surface-to-air missile batteries Syria had deployed to Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley.
Operation Mole Cricket 19 obliterated the Syrian missiles and noticed Israel’s new F-15 and F-16 fighters dogfight the Syrian Air Drive, capturing down 82 Syrian plane with out dropping a single fighter.
Whereas Hezbollah is unlikely ever to discipline a community of anti-aircraft missiles that enormous, a few of its air defenses may nonetheless impression Israeli air operations over Lebanon.
“Usually talking, it will unlikely deter Israel’s Air Drive from working over Lebanon however will doubtless power the Israelis to turn out to be extra cautious amid Hezbollah’s altering techniques and their extra superior capabilities, reminiscent of having their fighter jets flying at larger altitudes or utilizing stealthier jets just like the F-35,” Khoueiry stated.
“Israel’s Air Drive is far more superior and might bypass these air defenses, sustaining its immense air superiority, however Israeli drones and helicopters working over Lebanon could possibly be extra in danger, particularly if the IDF expands its operations in Lebanon.”
Khoueiry doubts Iran will switch strategic programs just like the Bavar-373 to Lebanon.
“It’s extra doubtless that Iran can and did switch medium-sized and vary defensive programs to Hezbollah,” Khoueiry stated. “Bigger anti-air protection programs just like the Bavar-373 are more durable to switch given their dimension, but additionally provided that Lebanon’s geography is small and Hezbollah wouldn’t have the ability to correctly function them there.”
The RANE analyst believes that if Iran did deploy the Bavar-373 within the area, it will ship it someplace like Syria, though he estimates that is unlikely at this level.
“The invention of the Sayyad-2 doubtless hints that Iran has been capable of switch extra related superior defensive programs that Hezbollah is probably going to make use of in a progressive means because the battle escalates or within the occasion of a wider struggle, particularly given the doubtless restricted quantity they possess,” Khoueiry stated.
