Military

Israeli Military Showcases Giant Fragments of Downed Iranian Missiles

TEL AVIV (Sputnik) - Iran's October 1 attack on Israel used modern and heavy ballistic missiles capable of completely destroying a multistory building, a Sputnik correspondent reported on Wednesday after visiting a showcase of fragments of downed Iranian missiles at one of Israeli army bases.
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All missile fragments on display were longer than 10 meters (33 feet), the correspondent reported. One of them, a fragment of a downed Khaybar Shekan ballistic missile, which has a range of up to 1,450 kilometers (901 miles), was found just outside the city of Arad in Israel's south.
"The warhead of this missile, which was launched directly from Iran at Israel, weighs about 1 tonne. It is capable of demolishing an entire building. This attack drove most Israelis into bomb shelters ... Iran attacked in an unacceptable manner and will face the consequences," Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, an international spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), told Sputnik.
A spokesperson for the IDF's special engineering unit, whose work is to study and neutralize enemy equipment, among other things, told Sputnik that the Khaybar Shekan ballistic missiles can weigh up to 18 tonnes, inclusive of warheads and fuel.
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"This is a modern missile, produced within the last ten years. It was intercepted by the Strela missile defense system. These missiles were launched at military bases and some civilian locations ... We found warheads that did not detonate in the cities of Be'er Sheva and Herzliya. A total of 180 such missiles were launched; we found fragments of several dozen of them and are continuing the search," the spokesperson said.
The exhibit also contained a fragment of an Emad liquid-fuel ballistic missile, which was launched at Israel during Iran's first-ever direct attack in April.
Multiple high-ranking Iranian officials said their country did not want war but would resolutely retaliate against any attacks on its security and sovereignty.
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