Jericho 3
According to estimates, a third and more advanced version of the missile known as Jericho 3 was developed. This is a three-stage missile. Because all information about this missile is classified and confidential, it has no reliable information but only estimates - usually by intelligence agencies, research institutes and foreign media - and these vary considerably from source to source. This missile is said to be similar in its capabilities to to the Shavit ["Comet"] rocket used by Israel to launch satellites.
Israel has launched satellites into earth orbit using its indigenously produced Shavit launch vehicle. Some analysts have speculated that the Jericho 3 is simply is the first two stages of the Shavit SLV. The Shavit is a 3-stage solid launcher. The two first stages are identical with a composite structure with a weight of approximately 13 tons. The third stage, built by Raphael, is spherical with a titanium structure. It weighs 2 tons and its 60 kN motor burns during 92.5 seconds.
Following the launch of the first Offeq satellite, scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory reportedly calculated that the Shavit "could transport a nuclear warhead a minimum of 5,300 km" if deployed as a ballistic missile, and analysts at the Defense Department estimated a range of 7,200 km for the missile, with an unspecified payload capacity. In July 1990, Steve Fetter, a physicist at the University of Maryland, calculated the payload and range parameters of the Shavit, based on data about the two Offeq launches provided in the press. He found that if the Shavit were deployed as a ballistic missile it could deliver a 775-kg payload a distance of 4,000 km, putting the whole of the Middle East (and a large part of the former Soviet Union) within striking distance.
According to preliminary estimates, this missile has been operational since mid- 2005, with a range of 4,500-7,000 km and has a carrying capacity of an explosive device weighing 1,000–1,300 kg. All publications, including Janes Information Group, provide more or less the same information. Jericho-3 is said to be a three-stage rocket powered by solid fuel and capable of carrying warheads weighing 1,000 to 1,300 kg. The missile is reported to weigh 30 tons at launch, about 15.5 meters (50 feet) long and 1.5 meters (about 60 inches) in diameter.
It is said to be capable of carrying one 750 kg nuclear warhead or 2-3 smaller nuclear warheads that can indepedently targetted. The range of the missile is daid to be about 4,800 Km, depending on the weight of the payload. If the missile carried a single atomic bomb weighing 350 kg it would be capable a much greater maximum range. A "Jericho 3" missile, with a payload of up to 1,000 kg , could give Israel the capability of a nuclear blow to all Middle Eastern countries [including Iran], Africa, Europe, Asia, Almost all of North America, and extensive parts of South America and North Oceania.
According to world estimates, the missile became operational and put into use during 2008 after being successfully tested, for the first time, when it was launched on January 17, 2008 from the Palmachim base. There are no data on the number of "Jericho 3" missiles in Israeli possession.
There are reports that Israel is developing "Jericho 4", a new model of the long-range ballistic missile.
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