Fadi, a type of rocket used for the first time by Lebanese militant group Hezbollah against Israel, has more explosive power and range than rockets deployed previously, but lacks precision, experts said.
“In an initial response” to the explosions of pagers and two-way radios, Hezbollah on Sunday said it had “bombed the Rafael military industry complexes” in northern Israel with “dozens” of Katyusha, Fadi-1 and Fadi-2 rockets.
The Iran-backed group said it had used “dozens” of Fadi-1 and Fadi-2 rockets “in response to the repeated Israeli attacks that targeted different Lebanese regions and killed many civilians”.
This was the first time Hezbollah had used Fadi rockets since Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked Israel on October 7 last year, sparking the ongoing war in Gaza.
According to the Iranian news agency Mehr, quoting Hezbollah, Fadi is a tactical multi-use ground-to-ground rocket.
According to the Israeli Alma security research centre, the Fadi rockets were named after Fadi Hassan Tawil, a Hezbollah militant killed by Israel in 1987.
The non-guided Fadi is of a similar build to the 302-mm Syrian Khaibar rocket, which itself is based on the design of China’s WS-1, said Elliot Chapman, a regional expert for British security firm Janes.
There has been no information as to whether the rockets are manufactured in Lebanon, or how many have been made.
‘Heavy arsenal’
But some estimates suggest that Hezbollah has an arsenal of thousands of unguided rockets, with ranges between 45 and 200 kilometres.
The rockets’ precision however, is not high, judging from the discrepancy between announced targets and actual impact locations.
“Hezbollah has avoided major and serious escalations in its previous attacks,” said War Noir, a military expert using a pseudonym.
But as the conflict escalates, he said, “these heavy artillery rockets will probably be used much more frequently”.
Published – September 26, 2024 10:00 am IST
