C-802 Post-Mortem

Austin Bay has posted an interesting analysis of the Hizballah missile attack against that Israeli Saar-5 corvette, as dissected by a pair of military analysts, Kirk Spencer and Trent Telenko. While Mr. Spencer and Mr. Telenko disagree on a few minor points, much of their analysis dovetails with what we previously posted.

They also offer some new insights into the Israeli navy's operational posture prior to the attack. Concerned about potential fratricide, the corvette was apparently on "weapons tight" status, suggesting that the vessel could not employ its on-board missiles to engage the incoming C-802. Spencer and Telenko also believe (as we do) that Hizballah gunners--and their Iranian advisors--were able to "template" Israeli naval operations off the Lebanese coast, allowing them to launch the missile at an optimum time.