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As Iran Threatens Israel, How Much of a Danger Is Its Missile Program?
(AP-Washington Post) Jon Gambrell - Iran's long-vaunted missile program was behind its unprecedented assault on Israel in April, when Iran became the first nation to launch such a barrage since Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein lobbed Scud missiles at Israel in the 1991 Gulf War. But U.S. officials assessed that 50% of the Iranian missiles failed at launch or crashed before reaching their target. Even those that reached Israel appeared to miss their marks. Sam Lair, a research associate at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, said if Iranian missiles are not able to hit targets precisely, "that recasts their role. They're no longer as valuable for conducting conventional military operations. They may be more valuable simply as terror weapons." James Martin analysts concluded that the four Iranian Emad missiles that struck Nevatim Air Base in the Negev Desert were "much less accurate than previous estimates indicated," Lair said. "This indicates the Iranians are a generation behind where previous assessments thought they were in accuracy." The poor performance may be attributable to electronic warfare measures designed to confuse the missile's guidance system, as well as potential sabotage, poor missile design and the distances involved in the attack.