Is the RPG-29 to Blame
for Israeli Failures
in Lebanon? |
|
| RIA Novosti
(MOSCOW) |
| Friday, August 11,
2006 |
|
RPG-29-2 |
|
|
|
Israeli Public
Security Minister Avi Dichter and Defense Minister Amir
Peretz said Hizbollah was using modern anti-tank weapons
of Russian make, specifically the RPG-29 Vampirs with a
tandem warhead. Such statements have perplexed Russian
arms experts, but they agreed to talk with me if I did
not mention their names.
"As usually happens in war, either side can interpret
our words in its favor, and we don't want that. We are
neutral, and do not want to be accused of bias," one of
them said.
The main point they made is this: the fact that
Hizbollah militants are armed with RPG-29 handheld
anti-tank grenade launchers does not mean that they
received them from Syria, which acquired them in the
course of military-technical cooperation with Moscow. A
suspicion is not a fact. Facts must be proved by
documented evidence, but there is none.
The fragments of projectiles and the tailpiece, which
the Israelis have sent to us, do not provide any
evidence of anything. They do indeed bear the letters of
the Russian (Cyrillic) alphabet, but this is not enough
for a complete examination. We have to look at the
serial numbers of the weapons in order to determine
where they were made, who sold them, and to whom.
The experts explained that the RPG-29 Vampir with a
tandem HEAT (high explosive anti-tank) PG-29V warhead
was developed in the late 1980s when tanks acquired
reactive armor. The Soviet army received them in 1989.
After the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the
Warsaw Pact, these grenade launchers and their
projectiles could be found in almost all the newly
independent ex-communist nations. They were even
produced in some of them. Trying to establish whose
grenades are hitting Israeli tanks will be pure
guesswork.
If a contract on arms supplies is official, or "white",
it always mentions the end user. But apart from white
contracts there are semi-official, or "grey", exports,
and even "black", which are unofficial and illegal.
Anyone from any country could sell RPG-29s to the Middle
East, the Palestinians, Hizbollah, Hamas, or any other
armed group. Elaborate set-ups could be used to do so.
The experts did not name countries or companies, acting
according to the innocent-until-proven-guilty principle,
but many have already been proven guilty. Trials of
illegal arms merchants have long ceased being a
sensation. If senior officials have suspicions, or even
make public accusations, they should back their
statements with documents. Without facts this is idle
talk and even political scheming.
The military experts observed that talk of "wrongful use
of Russian weapons" starts whenever one of the sides has
setbacks at the front lines. This is what the Americans
did in Vietnam, and this is what they are doing in Iraq
more than twenty years later, when they blame Russia for
the fact that the militants are fighting with Russian
arms. What other arms could they have if Iraqi leaders
were getting them officially from the Soviet Union for
almost 30 years? Now Israeli officials have followed
suit.
The experts said that in accusing Russia of indirect
support for the other side, politicians fail to realize
that they admit their helplessness and discredit their
own weapons and combat hardware. The Merkava tank has
always been considered invincible in Israel. The
Israelis were proud of its design and its upgraded
reactive armor. They claimed it was the best tank in the
world. Tactically, the Israeli army has used it very
skillfully in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Merkavas
entered rural districts only when they were supported by
helicopters, and had direct and stable communication
with them.
But, apparently, there are not enough helicopters for
tank support on Lebanese territory. The crew of any tank
can see very little. They do not know what is happening
on the sides or in the back. It is an easy target for
any militant, who can hide in the bushes or behind a
jamb. He does not need to attack a Merkava from the
front, where it does indeed have excellent protection.
He can hit it from the side, the rear, or the space
between the running gear - any tank has many vulnerable
spots. Perfect weapons simply do not exist. So why
complain about a Russian grenade launcher?
The experts thanked the Israeli ministers for the free
promotion of Russian weapons, but repeated they had
nothing to do with this.
They observed that Israeli tanks were hit in Lebanon,
not in Israel. Members of Hizbollah, no matter what
emotions they may evoke, are mostly citizens of Lebanon,
and have a lawful right to defend their land against the
aggressor. At this point the experts said that they were
reluctant to go into politics. They switched back to
weapons, and added that Israel was not only using its
own weapons.
The Merkava is an Israeli tank, but the M-113A1/A2 and
M-577A2, on which Israeli soldiers drive into Lebanon,
are of American make. The same applies to the following
helicopters: the AH-1E/Bell-209, Chechnya-53D Stallion,
UH-60 Blackhawk, S-70A, and assault AH-64 Apache. All
their artillery - the AMRAAM, AIM-120B, AIM-95, and even
the MLRS 227 multiple-launch rocket systems - were also
made in the United States, not to mention assault
aircraft, bombers, and fighters. The experts asked
rhetorically: "Why blame anyone, if you are bombing a
foreign country with foreign weapons?"
I did not argue with them. As a journalist, I merely try
to familiarize readers with an opinion, which is
different from what some Israeli leaders do regarding
the "participation" of Russia and its weapons in the
bloody conflict in the Middle East. |
|
