The IDF is examining the possibility of establishing new anti-tank units using materiel seized as spoils from Hezbollah, including tens of thousands of Kornet and Almas anti-tank missiles, equivalent to the Israeli-made Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Gil system. This initiative comes following the capture of an unprecedented quantity of missiles from southern Lebanon, Israel Hayom learned on Sunday.
After removing weapons from areas previously controlled by Radwan forces, the IDF initially considered destroying some equipment due to the vast quantity but ultimately decided to transfer a significant portion to Israel. During the operation, dozens of trucks loaded with weapons were removed from numerous villages, to deny Hezbollah's Radwan forces access to these resources.
These weapons were intended to provide Hezbollah teams with long-range combat capabilities against IDF forces, primarily consisting of advanced missiles such as the Almas – optical anti-tank missiles with reverse engineering capabilities based on Rafael's Gil missile, featuring "fire-and-forget" mechanisms effective at ranges of several miles. In addition to the Almas, the IDF also seized a significant quantity of Kornet missiles, which have been fired toward northern Israeli communities over the past year. These Russian-manufactured missiles, enhanced in their Iranian version, can reach ranges of up to 7.5 miles, with clear operational significance for the IDF.
The possibility of converting this massive cache into dedicated long-range units is currently under consideration, following the IDF's historical precedent of utilizing spoils from previous wars.
