LORA | |
---|---|
LORA missile in launcher | |
Type | Theater quasiballistic missile; air-launched ballistic missile [1] |
Service history | |
Used by | |
Wars | 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict |
Production history | |
Manufacturer | Israel Aerospace Industries |
Specifications | |
Mass | 1.6 tons (1,600 kg) |
Length | 5.2 meters |
Diameter | 624 mm |
Warhead | 570 kg high explosive, bomblets or high speed penetrator warhead [2] |
Operational range | 90 - 430 km [3] |
Maximum speed | Hypersonic |
Guidance system | inertial navigation, GPS and TV terminal |
Accuracy | 10m CEP |
LORA (LOng Range Artillery) is a theater quasi-ballistic missile developed by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI).
LORA began development in 2002. [4] The missile has a range of 400 kilometres (250 mi) and a CEP of 10 metres (33 ft) when using a combination of GPS and TV for terminal guidance. It can be ship-launched from inside of a standard Intermodal container. [5] [6] An air-launched variant called Air LORA was unveiled in June 2024. [7]
On 11 June 2018, the Azerbaijan revealed it had purchased the LORA system from Israel at an undisclosed date following president Ilham Aliyev's visit to an Azerbaijani Land Forces missile unit housing both the LORA and the Polonez. [8] [9] LORA was used in the final days of the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, being used to target a vital bridge in the Lachin corridor linking Armenia to the Nagorno-Karabakh region. [10] It was initially thought to have destroyed the bridge, but later evidence suggested it had only inflicted limited damage. [11]
During Aero India in June 2023, India's Bharat Electronics signed a Memorandum of Understanding with IAI to produce the LORA in India under license. [12] [13]
The Azerbaijani Armed Forces is the military of the Republic of Azerbaijan. It was re-established according to the country's Law of the Armed Forces on 9 October 1991. The original Azerbaijan Democratic Republic's armed forces were dissolved after Azerbaijan was absorbed into the Soviet Union as the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic from 28 April 1920. After the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991–92, Azerbaijan's armed forces were reformed based on Soviet bases and equipment left on Azerbaijani soil.
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The Second Nagorno-Karabakh War was an armed conflict in 2020 that took place in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding occupied territories. It was a major escalation of an unresolved conflict over the region, involving Azerbaijan, Armenia and the self-declared Armenian breakaway state of Artsakh. The war lasted for 44 days and resulted in Azerbaijani victory, with the defeat igniting anti-government protests in Armenia. Post-war skirmishes continued in the region, including substantial clashes in 2022.
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The bombardment of Tartar was the bombardment of the cities, towns, and villages in Tartar District of Azerbaijan by the Armenian Armed Forces and the Artsakh Defence Army with artillery, missiles, and cluster munitions during the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War. The bombardment of the district started on the second day of the war, on 28 September, when the Armenian forces shelled the city of Tartar, the administrative center of the district, and Shikharkh, which was built for the Azerbaijani refugees of the First Nagorno-Karabakh War.
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