IDF says Hezbollah is hiding Russian-made DR-3 cruise missiles in Lebanese homes that can reach Southern Israel.
Russia assisted Hezbollah to convert the Tu-143 Reys into an improvised cruise missile. The IDF’s statement suggesting russian origin of the DR-3 points to the possibility that russian assistance was involved in this upgrade.
The IDF released a video which they say is evidence that Hezbollah is keeping cruise missiles in residential homes in southern Lebanon, aimed at Israel. While these missiles are actually modified Soviet-era drones, they reportedly carry up to 660 lbs of explosives.
Amid Israel Air Force attacks in Lebanon Monday morning, IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari warned residents of southern Lebanon to avoid areas used by Hezbollah. He warned of a pre-emptive Israeli attack to remove the theat of cruise missiles set to attack Israeli civilians, some of which had already been thwarted.
“Here we are exposing Hezbollah’s method of hiding a cruise missile inside a home,” he said. “The terrorists create a designated opening for the missile launch.”
“Here you can see how we identified the terrorists making an opening in the building that exposed the missile,” he continued. “In a precise strike, the IDF eliminated the terrorists and this missile launching infrastructure, shortly before the launch.”
“Shortly, the IDF will engage in extensive, precise strikes, against terror targets which have been embedded widely throughout Lebanon,” he warned.
“We advise civilians from Lebanese villages located in and next to buildings and areas used by Hezbollah for military purposes, such as those used to store weapons, to immediately move out of harm’s way for their own safety.”
The IDF identified the cruise missile as a Russian-made DR-3 missile, with a senior IDF official telling i24NEWS that it can reach a distance of 200 kilometers (124 miles). Such a missile can hit communities just north of Tel Aviv.
Until now, there had been no indication that Hezbollah possessed DR-3 cruise missiles, nor any cruise missiles at all. Furthermore, this seems to be the first time Israeli forces have encountered the DR-3 missile.
Speculation suggests that Hezbollah may have acquired the Tu-143 systems from the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad, which had received these UAVs from the Soviet Union. The basic specifications of the Tu-143 Reys UAV include a fuselage length of 8.06 meters, a wingspan of 2.24 meters, a launch weight of 1.23 tons and a range of up to 180 kilometers with a maximum flight duration of 13 minutes.
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