Hezbollah, the Iran-backed armed group that dominates southern Lebanon, used a new Iranian anti-tank guided missile in an assault on a border outpost.
As reported by defense and aviation journalist Babak Taghvaee, Hezbollah uses the Almas (Diamond) anti-tank missile, which is an Iranian clone of the Israeli Rafael Spike-MR top attack anti-tank missile system.
“They used an Almas against an IDF’s surveillance post at the border with Lebanon,” noted Taghvaee on X.
Also was posted a video depicting the missile’s launch, its rapid ascent, and its trajectory toward an Israeli surveillance outpost situated on a cliff-side along the Lebanon-Israel border.
Almas (Diamond) anti-tank missile is the #Iranian copy of the #Israeli Rafael Spike-MR top attack anti-tank missile. #Iran‘ s Islamic Regime has recently delivered these to #Hezbollah terrorist organization. They used an Almas against an #IDF‘s surveillance post at border with… pic.twitter.com/KCAkTK43rW
— Babak Taghvaee – The Crisis Watch (@BabakTaghvaee1) January 26, 2024
According to information available on the U.S. Army’s TRADOC website, the Almas missile is a tube-launched, surface-to-surface, and air-to-surface weapon. It relies on wire and infrared (IR) guidance and has a fire-and-forget capability. It is a reverse-engineered copy of the Israeli Spike Anti-Tank Guided Missile (ATGM) system.
The Almas missile features a tandem warhead, with the front warhead positioned just behind the homing head in the missile’s nose. Its operational range extends to 8 kilometers.
This weapon system is believed to have been developed through the reverse engineering of Spike missiles that fell into Hezbollah’s hands during its 2006 conflict with Israel. Subsequently, these missiles are sent to Iran for analysis and replication. The Almas missile was unveiled in 2021 and currently encompasses man-portable, air-launched, and ground/surface vehicle-launched variants in production.
