For the first time the use of Palestinian militants Russian anti-tank complex «Cornet» (ATRA), it became clear on December 6. Specifically, in this day the Palestinians for the first time managed to incite Israeli tank «Merkava-3.» The Israeli side labeled fact recognized, as stated Gabi Ashkenazi, chief of the General Staff of the Israel. His statement he made during a working session of the parliamentary committee on foreign affairs of Israel and the defense. Namely Ashkenazi said: «We are talking about the heavy missile, which is one of the most unsafe, previously used in our region.»
According to a senior Israeli military, missile, «Cornet» broke through tank armor «Merkava-3» which producing an electric fence patrols established along the border with the Gaza Strip restless. The crew bailed out armored cars only that for an unknown reason, the missile «Cornet» is not blown. Yet, according to Israeli sources, tank was hit.
«Cornet» — quite representative of the latest generation anti-tank systems and is designed to effectively defeat modern armored vehicles, including tanks, equipment ERA. Also, these complexes with a significant modicum of probability can be used to defeat enemy personnel, including under the protection of sophisticated fortifications. In addition, he has the ability to hit low-speed aircraft and surface targets, regardless of the time of day and the difficulties surrounding weather conditions. As acknowledged by the military, «Cornet» is resistant not only to passive, and active optical interference. He also has a number of other advantages — the camera work is facilitated by the use of new technology, comfortable to carry. All components suggest that the «Cornet» fairly effective weapon. And this was confirmed during combat deployment.
According to unconfirmed reports, for the first time complex «Cornet» was used in combat criteria second Lebanon war in 2006. Israel has officially conceded defeat in a designated conflict 46 tanks, of which 3 have been destroyed. The representative of «Hezbollah» shows other data: according to them, she was able to knock out a tank 164. The number of destroyed tanks with the introduction of «Cornet» remains unknown. But in the middle of destroyed tanks were modern «Merkava-4», which up to that point were considered invincible. It is worth noting that the Israeli military is so huge loss to justify the fact that the arms of «Hezbollah» was specifically ATGM «Kornet».
Israelis have noted the emergence of a Lebanese militant «Cornet» was a very nasty surprise. It states that «Hezbollah» «Cornet» put Syria. Although our homeland supplied complexes not only in this country, and in Morocco, Eritrea, Algeria, Libya, Peru, and Turkey.
Military-technical cooperation established between Russia and Syria, is very disapproving reaction in Israel. Occupied by Israeli commandos in 2006, several «Cornet» were displayed in the middle of other trophies in the building of the General Staff of the country, and the fact of their existence from the militants have caused to the Israeli undisguised fury. And far a role in why Israel has intensively supplied instrument Georgia, according to Israeli politicians have played the future development of military-technical cooperation between Moscow and Damascus.
Given the existence of the militants as a massive weapon systems as «Cornet» Israeli military began to develop plans for conducting transactions with the security of their own mechanized units. Recently the military operation «Cast Lead» management does not preclude the ability of the IDF, in the Gaza Strip again situation similar to Lebanon in 2006, and bezotstupno encouraged his subordinates not to engage in open confrontation without preparatory establishment of the existence of the enemy complex «Cornet». As you know, while fear of Israeli military commanders have been in vain, but December 6, 2010 Palestinians have shown that now in their possession is an instrument against which the Israeli tanks are powerless.