Hezbollah (“Party of God”) is a Lebanese political party and militant group with close ties to Iran and Syria’s Assad regime. It is frequently identified as an Iranian proxy, as the Party supports Tehran’s regional ambitions in exchange for military, financial, and political support. Hezbollah is the world’s most heavily armed non-state actor, and has been described as “a militia trained like an army and equipped like a state.” This is especially true with regard to its missile and rocket forces, which Hezbollah has in vast quantities arrayed against Israel.

Hezbollah’s arsenal is comprised mostly of small, man-portable and unguided surface-to-surface artillery rockets. Although these devices lack precision, their sheer number make them effective weapons of terror. According to Israeli sources, Hezbollah held around 15,000 rockets and missiles on the eve of the 2006 Lebanon War, firing nearly 4,000 at Israel over the 34-day conflict. Hezbollah has since expanded its rocket arsenal, today estimated at 130,000.

In May 2006, Hezbollah’s Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah explained that “The purpose of our rockets is to deter Israel from attacking Lebanese civilians…The enemy fears that every time he confronts us, whenever there are victims in our ranks among Lebanese civilians, this will lead to a counter-barrage of our rockets, which he fears.” Indiscriminate rocket fire, particularly from small, easily transportable launchers makes the suppression of fires with airpower more challenging. This forces Israel to rely more heavily on ground forces in a conflict. Lacking any air force of its own, Hezbollah prefers ground wars in its own territory to bombardment from the skies. As Human Rights Watch notes, however, these arguments do not justify civilian targeting and casualties under international law.

The continued growth of Hezbollah’s missile and rocket forces is undesirable for several reasons. It may, for example, embolden the party to overstep Israeli red lines. Hezbollah’s push to acquire longer-ranged and precision-guided munitions could likewise spur Israel into preemptive action. Hezbollah’s weapons acquisition also raises the prospects for the proliferation of missile technology and know-how. According to Saudi and UAE officials, Hezbollah militants have worked with their Houthi forces in rocket development and launch divisions. Hezbollah forces in Syria and Iraq similarly operate with various Shiite militias. Growing relations among these groups presents risks for the dissemination of missile technology and knowledge.

Note: This is not a definitive list of Hezbollah’s rocket arsenal, and the profiles below rely solely on open-source material.

107 & 122 mm ‘Katyusha’ Rockets

The name “Katyusha” (Russian translation: “Little Katy”) was originally used by Soviet soldiers during World War II to refer to 82 mm and 132 mm rockets used by USSR forces. Today, however, reporters and analysts alike use the term for most of Hezbollah’s unguided artillery rockets fired from or designed for multiple rocket launchers (MRLs). Hezbollah operates several Katyusha models, which are typically distinguished by their range (4-40 km), warhead (10-20 kg, high explosive (HE) or submunitions), and launch weight (45-75kg). The 122 mm 9M22 Grad-type is one of the more popular Katyusha variants today. It was originally fitted for the Soviet BM-21 MRL, and has a range of approximately 20 km while carrying 6 kg of HE or submunitions, both dispersing anti-personnel fragments. The rocket may be fired through simple tripod launchers or from truck-based MRLs, and is accurate within a 336 m x 160 m space. Katyushas make up the majority of Hezbollah’s rocket force, and was the Party’s weapon of choice in the 2006 Lebanon War. According to a 2006 report, Hezbollah was estimated to hold between 7,000-8,000 107 mm and 122 mm Katyusha rockets, although this number has increased since. Iran serves as Hezbollah’s primary Katyusha supplier and starting in 2001, has also transferred several truck-mounted, multi-barrel rocket launchers (MRBL). These assets enable Hezbollah to fire salvos of Katyushas into Israel, although the Party largely continues to carry out attacks single shot attacks to maximize media attention. Nevertheless, whether launched individually or in salvos, Katyushas proved difficult to intercept prior to Israel’s deployment of Iron Dome in March 2011. The rockets’ short flight time and low flight trajectory made it difficult and cost ineffective for higher-tier missile defenses like Patriot to intercept.

Fajr-1 / Chinese 107 mm Rockets

China developed 107 mm artillery rockets in the 1960s for its Type-63 multiple rocket launcher (MRL). China sold the 107 mm rockets to Syria and a reported 500-700 units to Iran. Iran subsequently developed indigenous copies of the rocket (renaming it Fajr-1) and the MRL (renaming it Haseb). Iran is reported to have supplied Hezbollah with approximately 144 Haseb-type launchers and an unknown number of accompanying rockets. These rockets have a range of 8-10 km and employ an 8 kg high explosive (HE) fragmentation warhead. Different models vary between 0.841 m to 0.92 m in length and weigh nearly 19 kg. The rockets may be manually ground-launched or fired through the Haseb-type launchers acquired from Iran. The Haseb MRL holds 12 rounds (three rows of four cells) and weighs about 613 kg.

Falaq 1/2

Falaq is a family of unguided surface-to-surface artillery rockets developed by Iran in the 1990s. They are sometimes identified as Falagh. The Falaq-1 has a range of 10-11 km while carrying a 50 kg high explosive (HE) warhead. The rocket has a length of 1.32 m, a body diameter of 240 mm, and a total launch weight of 111 kg. A man-portable variant exists. The Falaq-2 also has a range of 10-11 km, but carries a 120 kg HE warhead. The rocket has a length of 1.82 m, a body diameter of 333 mm, and a launch weight of 255 kg. It has a fragmentation radius of around 300 m. The Falaq-1 and -2 are solid-fueled, spin-stabilized, and can be launched from trucks or boats. On August 25, 2005, Hezbollah reportedly fired a Falaq-1 into Israel by accident. Hezbollah subsequently launched several Falaq rockets against Israel during the 2006 Second Lebanon War.

333 mm Shahin-1

The Shahin-1 is an unguided heavy artillery rocket developed by Iran. It has a range of 13 km while carrying a 190 kg high explosive (HE) warhead. The rocket has a length of 2.9 m, a body diameter of 333 mm, and a launch weight of 384 kg.

122 mm Type-81 Rocket

These Chinese cluster munition rockets are often subsumed under the Katyusha umbrella. It is not known how Hezbollah obtained them, but the Party fired approximately 118 Type-81 rockets during the 2006 Lebanon War. Hezbollah’s deployment of the 122 mm Type-81 was the first confirmed use of this weapon. Hezbollah’s Type-81 rocket is an enhanced-range 122 mm rocket and thus may fall under the broader Katyusha designation. It has a range of 20.5 km while fitted with a high explosive (HE) warhead, reportedly carrying 39 MZD-2 or Type-90 submunitions. The standard 122 mm rocket is 1.927 m long and weighs 45.3 kg.

Fajr-3 and Fajr-5

The Fajr is a family of Iranian-designed, unguided surface-to-surface artillery rockets developed in the 1990s. One Israel Defense Forces (IDF) figure reported in 2011 estimated Hezbollah held a stockpile of several hundred of these projectiles. Iranian Air Force officers have furthermore made repeated trips to Lebanon to train Hezbollah fighters to aim and fire these more sophisticated missile systems. The Fajr-3 has a range of 43 km while carrying a 45 kg high explosive (HE) warhead. The rocket has a length of 5.2 m, a body diameter of 240 mm, and a launch weight of 407 kg. Fajr-3 launchers used in 2006 carried up to 14 rockets each. The Fajr-5 has a range of 75 km while carrying a 90 kg high explosive (HE) warhead. The rocket has a length of 6.485 m, a body diameter of 333 mm, and a launch weight of 915 kg. The mobile Fajr-5 launchers used in 2006 carried up to four rockets each. Israeli intelligence learned that Fajr rockets had been distributed among core Hezbollah activists in the early 2000s. Hezbollah fighters fired a Fajr-5 rocket for the first time during the 2006 Lebanon War. The projectile struck the Northern Israeli town of Rosh Pina, but did not result in any casualties. Analysts also believe Hezbollah used Fajr-3/-5 missiles to strike Israel’s northern port city of Haifa.

Raad-2 and Raad-3 / 220 mm Uragan-type Rockets

The Soviet Union designed these artillery rockets in the 1970s for its BM-27 ‘Uragan’ multiple rocket launcher (MRL). Renamed by Hezbollah as the Raad-2 and Raad-3, these rockets have a range of 60-70 km with a 50 kg high explosive (HE) warhead, which is filled with 6 mm anti-personnel steel balls. The rockets are measure approximately 4.8 m in length and 280 kg in weight. The Soviet Union sold Uragan rockets and launcher systems to Syria, which then transferred a number of these rockets to Hezbollah in the early 2000s. Hezbollah’s launchers differ from the standard Soviet design, as one analysis explains: “[O]nly one layer of four tubes rather than the standard three layers, two with six tubes and one with four.” Hezbollah likely made this change to accommodate a lighter launch vehicle.

Hezbollah successfully fired a Raad rocket into Israel for the first time on July 16, 2006 – four days into the Second Lebanon War. Until then it had relied on regular and enhanced-range 122 mm rockets.

302 mm Khaibar-1 / M-302 / B-302

The Khaibar-1 rocket is an unguided artillery rocket, developed and manufactured by Syria. Reports suggest the Khaibar-1 is based heavily on the Chinese Wei Shi (WS-1) MRL system. The rocket is named after the 629 CE Battle of Khaibar, fought between early Muslims and resident Jews. The Khaibar-1 has a range of 100 km while carrying a 150 kg payload. It is typically equipped with large, anti-personnel warheads. The rocket has a length of 6.3 m, a body diameter of 0.302 m, and a launch weight of approximately 750 kg. The launcher features two layers of three firing tubes each. The Khaibar-1 is unguided but more accurate than most indigenous Hezbollah/Hamas rockets, and can be stored more easily due to increased durability. However, the rocket does not spin like the Fajr-5, and is therefore likely less accurate. The Khaibar-1 was first fired by Hezbollah on July 28, 2006, striking the city of Afula. Subsequent targets included Haifa, Hadera, and areas in the northern West Bank.

Zelzal-1 and Zelzal-2

The Zelzal is an Iranian variant of the Soviet FROG 7 artillery ballistic missile. It has a substantially higher range and payload than Hezbollah’s Katyusha and Fajr rockets, providing the group with the capability to target deep within Israel. The Zelzal-1 has a range of 125-160 km while carrying a 600 kg high explosive (HE) warhead. It has a length of 8.325 m, a body diameter of 610 mm, and a launch weight of 2,950 kg. The Zelzal-2 has a range of 210 km while carrying a 600 kg HE warhead. The solid-fuel rocket shares the same length and diameter as its predecessor, but has an increased launch weight of 3,400 kg. It is also spin-stabilized. Iran reportedly began delivering the Zelzal-1 and -2 rockets through Syria to Hezbollah in the early 2000s. Iran used transport planes to carry sophisticated missiles – including the Zelzal – into Syria, which were then smuggled to Hezbollah. Zelzal rockets are fairly inaccurate, and require a large transporter-erector launcher (TEL) vehicle with a large target signature. Israeli officials say the rocket’s considerable payload makes it a serious threat. One 2006 report found that Hezbollah likely held “a few dozen” Zelzal rockets, while another cited as many as 200. Updated numbers are unclear. Hezbollah’s Zelzals went unused during the 2006 war, likely due to Iranian influence (seeking to prevent further escalation), Israeli airpower (which could easily strike larger targets like Zelzals), or some combination of the two.

Fateh-110 / M-600

The Fateh-110 is an Iranian short-range, road-mobile ballistic missile. It is most likely a modified version of the unguided Zelzal-2, with the addition of control and guidance systems. The M-600, or “Tishreen,” is a Syrian variant/copy of the Fateh-110 missile. The Fateh-110 and M-600 have ranges of 250-300 km, making them among the longest-ranged weapons in Hezbollah’s inventory. Both missiles carry a 450-500 kg high explosive (HE) warhead and are GPS-guided, providing them with a CEP of 500 m. They are nearly 9 m in length and weigh approximately 3,450 kg at launch. In 2010, Israeli reports claimed that Syria had transferred a number of M-600 missiles to Hezbollah. Iran reportedly supplied Fateh-110s to Hezbollah around November 2014. Hezbollah is believed to hold hundreds of these missiles, with initial Fateh-110 transfers dating back to 2007 and M-600 transfers to 2010.

Scud-B/C/D