Saudis target Iran and Israel at missile base

ARCHIVES 2013

By admin-s On Jul 11, 2013

Image showing two circular launch pads, #1 pointing in direction of Israel, and #2 pointing in direction of Iran. A vehicle-mounted ballistic launcher drives to the launch pads and directs itself along thick dark line pointing at ten o’clock. At the bottom of the image an underground bunker built into the hillside with two entrances, one 12 metres wide and the other 15 metres wide, can be seen, where missiles and their warheads are stored. Administrative and residential buildings are shown at the centre of the image.

(The Telegraph) – Saudi Arabia is targeting Israel and Iran with powerful ballistic missiles, new satellite photography suggests.

Images analysed by experts at IHS Jane’s Intelligence Review have revealed a hitherto undisclosed surface-to-surface missile base deep in the Saudi desert, capable of hitting both countries.

The Chinese-made missiles are not remotely guided and have to be aimed at their target before firing.

The analysts spotted two launch pads with markings pointing north-west towards Tel Aviv and north-east towards Tehran. They are designed for Saudi Arabia’s arsenal of lorry-launched DF3 missiles, which have a range of 1500 to 2500 miles (2400 km to 4023 km) and can carry a two-ton payload.

The base, believed to have been built within the past five years, gives an insight into Saudi strategic thinking at a time of heightened tensions in the Gulf. While Saudi Arabia does not have formal diplomatic relations with Israel, it has long maintained back-channel communications as part of attempts to promote stability in the region.

The two countries also have a mutual enemy in Iran, which has long seen Saudi Arabia as a rival power in the Gulf. Experts fear that if Iran obtains a nuclear weapon, Saudi Arabia would seek to follow suit.

Analysts at IHS Jane’s believe that the kingdom is in the process of upgrading its missiles, although even the DF3, which dates back to the Eighties, is potentially big enough to carry a nuclear device.