The Nasser 3 has been fired of late from Gaza into Israel’s pre-1967 borders in expectation of an Israeli retreat from Gaza.
According to a MidEastWeb.com report, IDF sources believe that Hamas is manufacturing the new rockets. The new ‘Nasser 3’ rockets were the ones fired from Gaza towards the southern Israeli town of Sderot on June 28 killing two residents, one of them a 3-year-old child.
Since November 2001, some 350 Qassam rockets have been fired from Gaza at targets within the ‘Green Line’ causing few casualties and minor damage. This led to the Qassam rocket being initially dismissed as an ineffective improvisation, though it was recognized that the rockets had the potential to become a more significant threat.
Like its predecessor, the 2.2m Nasser 3 is capable of carrying a 5kg warhead to a range of 9km, according to a report in Janes Defense Weekly (JDW). However, the Nasser 3 has a standard explosive warhead combined with metal fragments and a standard fuse. "The new warhead is much more powerful than that of the improvised Qassam 2," an IDF source told JDW. "Equipped with a standard fuse, rather than an improvised one, the new warhead guarantees detonation on impact, overcoming the Qassam 2's main flaw."
The IDF believes that most of the Nasser 3's components are manufactured within Gaza. The rocket is cased in a 110-120mm-diameter steel water pipe, containing some 20kg of improvised solid propellant, usually manufactured from available potassium nitrate fertilizer and powdered sugar. "It appears there was some improvement in the propellant's mixture, which we cannot yet determine," an Israeli Police explosive ordnance disposal specialist told JDW.
The Nasser 3 has four stabilizing fins welded to the casing and is launched from rails mounted on a bipod. An electric fuse, sometimes triggered by a timing mechanism, ignites the rocket’s engine.
"It is hard to speak of the Qassam rocket in general, as there are many variants and different production lines," the specialist said. "The Palestinians are continuously experimenting with different propellant mixtures and warhead ingredients."
However, an IDF source added: "We believe that the Palestinians have received shipments of standard explosives and fuses, probably smuggled under the
Egyptian border in Rafiach, and that these enabled the Qassam's improvement. It seems that while Qassam 2 had many failures, both in launch and at impact, the Nasser 3 is much more effective."
To date, some 20 Nasser 3 rockets, painted in green and red, have been fired from Gaza. All are believed to have been manufactured by a single Hamas workshop. The IDF has repeatedly operated against suspected Qassam workshops in Gaza with both air strikes and ground operations. "It appears to be impossible to completely prevent the firing of Qassam rockets," said Brig Gen Shmuel Zakai, the IDF commander in Gaza.
The IDF is using both ground and airborne observation platforms combined with Elbit's upgraded Raytheon-built TPQ-37 artillery-locating radar to detect and attack Qassam teams.
"The only solution to the Qassam threat is to have a presence at all launching grounds," a senior IDF source told JDW. "We have learned in our long years of fighting in Lebanon that no matter how much air superiority you have, the only thing that can suppress rocket attacks is to have control on the ground.
"Qassam teams, very much like the Lebanese Hizbullah's Katyusha teams, either spend only seconds at the launch site or use a timing mechanism, and are very hard to detect."
According to a MidEastWeb.com report, IDF sources believe that Hamas is manufacturing the new rockets. The new ‘Nasser 3’ rockets were the ones fired from Gaza towards the southern Israeli town of Sderot on June 28 killing two residents, one of them a 3-year-old child.
Since November 2001, some 350 Qassam rockets have been fired from Gaza at targets within the ‘Green Line’ causing few casualties and minor damage. This led to the Qassam rocket being initially dismissed as an ineffective improvisation, though it was recognized that the rockets had the potential to become a more significant threat.
Like its predecessor, the 2.2m Nasser 3 is capable of carrying a 5kg warhead to a range of 9km, according to a report in Janes Defense Weekly (JDW). However, the Nasser 3 has a standard explosive warhead combined with metal fragments and a standard fuse. "The new warhead is much more powerful than that of the improvised Qassam 2," an IDF source told JDW. "Equipped with a standard fuse, rather than an improvised one, the new warhead guarantees detonation on impact, overcoming the Qassam 2's main flaw."
The IDF believes that most of the Nasser 3's components are manufactured within Gaza. The rocket is cased in a 110-120mm-diameter steel water pipe, containing some 20kg of improvised solid propellant, usually manufactured from available potassium nitrate fertilizer and powdered sugar. "It appears there was some improvement in the propellant's mixture, which we cannot yet determine," an Israeli Police explosive ordnance disposal specialist told JDW.
The Nasser 3 has four stabilizing fins welded to the casing and is launched from rails mounted on a bipod. An electric fuse, sometimes triggered by a timing mechanism, ignites the rocket’s engine.
"It is hard to speak of the Qassam rocket in general, as there are many variants and different production lines," the specialist said. "The Palestinians are continuously experimenting with different propellant mixtures and warhead ingredients."
However, an IDF source added: "We believe that the Palestinians have received shipments of standard explosives and fuses, probably smuggled under the
Egyptian border in Rafiach, and that these enabled the Qassam's improvement. It seems that while Qassam 2 had many failures, both in launch and at impact, the Nasser 3 is much more effective."
To date, some 20 Nasser 3 rockets, painted in green and red, have been fired from Gaza. All are believed to have been manufactured by a single Hamas workshop. The IDF has repeatedly operated against suspected Qassam workshops in Gaza with both air strikes and ground operations. "It appears to be impossible to completely prevent the firing of Qassam rockets," said Brig Gen Shmuel Zakai, the IDF commander in Gaza.
The IDF is using both ground and airborne observation platforms combined with Elbit's upgraded Raytheon-built TPQ-37 artillery-locating radar to detect and attack Qassam teams.
"The only solution to the Qassam threat is to have a presence at all launching grounds," a senior IDF source told JDW. "We have learned in our long years of fighting in Lebanon that no matter how much air superiority you have, the only thing that can suppress rocket attacks is to have control on the ground.
"Qassam teams, very much like the Lebanese Hizbullah's Katyusha teams, either spend only seconds at the launch site or use a timing mechanism, and are very hard to detect."