(AP/Fox News) - Israeli and foreign defense experts Sunday dismissed a report that Israel had modified submarine-based missiles to carry nuclear warheads, saying such a modification was technically impossible. Former Israeli Deputy Defense Minister Efraim Sneh said, "Anyone with even the slightest understanding of missiles knows that the Harpoon [missile] can never be used to carry nuclear warheads." Ted Hooton, editor of Jane's Naval Weapon Systems in London, echoed Sneh's assessment, saying that problems with payload weight would put the Harpoon out of balance, drastically limiting its range and accuracy. "It seems to me that a nuclear weapon, which is extremely dense, would make the Harpoon nose heavy and significantly reduce its range - in any event well below the 90 miles (140 kilometers) it is designed for," Hooton said. (AP/FOX News)
2003-10-13 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive