Advances Iranian Missile Appears With Hezbollah Revealing Israeli Intelligence Failure (Photos)

A picture showing 358 missiles, including two loaded on a truck-based launcher, on display at the IRGC exhibition. via X

The wreckage of an Iranian-made “358″ missile loitering anti-aircraft missile was found in southern Lebanon following an attempt by Hezbollah to shoot down an Israeli military drone on October 28, which confirms that the Lebanese group is in possession of the advanced weapon system.

According to a statement by the Israeli military, the anti-aircraft missile was intercepted by air defenses. The drone was not damaged.

The “358” missile first emerged in 2019 after some of them were seized by the United States Navy in the course of operations to disrupt the flow of weapons to the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen. More of these missiles have since been found by U.S. and other military forces when seizing Iranian arms shipments bound for Yemen.

In 2021, Iraqi authorities also said they had recovered one of these missiles near Tuz Khurmatu Air Base, which is situated in the northeastern end of the country.

Missiles of this type were among several weapon systems shown to Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu during a visit to Iran last September.

The Iranian codename for the missile remains unknown. The “358” nomenclature appears to come from an internal U.S. military or intelligence cataloging system for Iranian-made weapons.

Details about the 358’s capabilities and its mode of operation remain limited. The U.S. military has disclosed in the past that the missile has a satellite navigation-assisted inertial navigation system guidance package, as well as a vertical gyroscope and an air data unit. A circular collar that appears to be infrared sensors or a laser proximity fuze is also plainly visible at the front end of the weapon as is a primary infrared or TV seeker in its nose.

The “358” missile has a solid fuel booster stage for launch. Once launched, the booster will detach and the remainder of the flight will be taken over by the gas turbine engine. Given the performance of the gas turbine, sweep wing design and fuel capacity, the missile would have subsonic performance with long range and endurance. It is suspected that the missile will loiter in a simple flight pattern, like lazy eight, to identify and attack targets of opportunity.

To date, there is no evidence of a “358” shooting down anything, despite reports that attempts to shoot down U.S. drones with the missile have been made in Yemen.

The appearance of the missile with Hezbollah represents another failure for the Israeli military and intelligence, who have been waging a covert campaign known as “the war between the wars” to prevent the delivery of such advanced weapon systems to the Lebanese group.

Hundreds of Israeli strikes targeted Syria over the past decade. Iranian weapons shipments to Hezbollah were often reported as the target.

Now it is clear that Iran is still supplying advanced weapon systems, including air defense, to Hezbollah, most likely via Syria.

Since the October 7 Hamas-led surprise attack from the Gaza Strip, Hezbollah and its allies, including Palestinian armed factions, have had near-daily exchanges of fire with the IDF along the Israeli-Lebanese border.

Israel appears to be well-aware of the failure of its covert campaign to curb weapon supplies to Hezbollah as it has so far limited its response to the group’s attacks. In addition, Israeli strikes targeted Syria’s two main airports in Damascus and Aleppo more than once since the start of the war in Gaza and the clashes on the Lebanon front in what appears to be a desperate attempt to disturb any further weapon supplies from Iran.

MORE ON THIS TOPIC:

• Iranian President Warns Israel Crossed ‘Red Lines’
• How Trump & Biden Created This War In The Middle East, And Why Hamas Attacked Israel On October 7th