(Los Angeles Times) David Holley - Smugglers in Ukraine shipped 18 cruise missiles, each capable of carrying a nuclear warhead, to Iran in 2001 and China in 2000, Ukrainian prosecutors said Friday. Iran received 12 Soviet-era Kh-55 cruise missiles, which have a range of 1,860 miles. Each missile is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead with a 200-kiloton yield at altitudes too low to be detected by radar. If the missiles were made operational, they could strike Israel if launched from Iran. The sales have been portrayed as a significant leak of Soviet-era weapons technology.
2005-03-21 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive