Anti-aircraft missiles
Most Hezbollah anti-aircraft missile systems provide a relatively small area of protection, but force Israeli aircraft to fly at higher altitudes, reducing their ability to accurately strike ground targets. Israeli policymakers and military officers have consistently reiterated their concerns about Hezbollah obtaining more advanced air defenses from Syria.
"Misag 1 and 2" missile
In 1994, Iran developed the second-generation "Misag-1" anti-aircraft missile, and Iran worked to develop the fourth generation of "Misag-2" missiles in the early 2000s. Some consider that these missiles are copies of the Chinese “Qian Wei” missiles, and the “Misag 1” missile can engage targets with a range of 0.5 to 5 kilometers, and at altitudes ranging between 0.3 and 4 kilometers. The missile carries a high-explosive warhead weighing 1.42 kg. The effective range of the Misag 2 missile ranges from 5 to 6 kilometers at a maximum altitude of 2.5 for fighters, or 3.5 kilometers for helicopters. The missile weighs 12.74 kg upon launch. It carries a high-explosive warhead weighing 1.42 kg.
SA-7 missile
The SA-7 is a shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missile, developed by the Soviet Union in the 1960s. The SA-7 missile can engage targets at a distance ranging from 0.8 to 3.4 km, and at a maximum altitude ranging from 1.5 to 2.3 km. It uses a 1.17 kg high-explosive warhead and infrared guidance.
SA-8 missile
In 1972, the Soviet Union developed the SA-8 tactical air defense system. It has been modified many times. The launchers of this system carry multiple types of missiles, each of which is capable of engaging targets with a range between 1.5 and 10 kilometers at a maximum height of 5 kilometers. Russia supplied Syria with more than 2,000 SA-8 interceptor missiles between 1979 and 1988. Hezbollah first obtained the SA-8 missile in January 2012.
SA-14 missile
The Soviet Union developed the SA-14 shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missile in the 1960s and 1970s. The SA-14 can engage targets at a range of 0.5 to 4.5 kilometers and at a maximum altitude of 1.5 to 3 kilometers. The missile uses a 1.15-kg high-explosive warhead and infrared guidance, and reports indicate that Hezbollah has dozens of SA-14 missiles, which were likely supplied by Iran.
SA-16 and SA-18 missiles
The SA-16 and SA-18 are shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles developed by Russia. The range of the missiles is about 0.5 km. Its flight limit is 3.5 km. It uses a two-color infrared homing device for guidance.
SA-17 missiles
The Buk M2, or SA-17, is a medium-range air defense system developed by Russia in the early 1990s. It carries 4 missiles ready to launch, which can engage targets at a distance of 50 km, and at an altitude ranging from 10 to 24 km. The Buk M2 was designed to protect ground forces. They can be transported by a range of vehicles and trailers, making them difficult to target. Russia sold a battery of Buk M2 missiles to Syria in 2007 after Israel launched an air strike on an unfinished Syrian nuclear reactor. Moscow again supplied Damascus with Buk M2 missiles in 2015, leading analysts to conclude that Syria was the most likely source of Hezbollah's current stockpile.
SA-22 Pantsir missiles
The "Pantsir" or "SA-22" missiles are a short- to medium-range air defense system developed by Russia in the 1990s to replace the older "Grayson" or "S-19" system. The SA-22 was designed as a defensive weapon equipped with 12 57E6 or 9M335 interceptor missiles, capable of engaging targets at a distance between 1.2 and 20 kilometers, and at a maximum altitude of 15 kilometers. It is likely that Iran or Syria supplied Hezbollah with the defense system, as Russia sold 850 units of the Pantsir-S1E to Syria in 2008 and 36 units in 2009. Russia also sold Iran 10 units of "Pantsir" at an unknown time. At a United Nations meeting in 2015, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Iran of transferring Pantsir missiles to Hezbollah.
