Jeremy Binnie
December 5, 2014
Photos prompt speculation about Libyan militia’s air defences
This low-resolution image showing two S-125 (SA-3 ‘Goa’) transporter-loader vehicles being moved by a semi-trailer truck was posted on Khalifah Haftar’s Facebook page on 2 December. Source: Khalifah Haftar
Photographs showing surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) being transported in Libya suggest the powerful militia from the coastal city of Misratah is attempting to improve its air defences in response to an expansion in Libyan Air Force operations to the west of the country.
A photograph of two transporter/loader vehicles for the S-125 (SA-3 ‘Goa’) SAM system with missiles was published on 2 December on the Facebook page representing Khalifah Haftar, the former general leading a coalition of militias and military units, including the remnants of the air force, against the rival Libya Dawn alliance, which includes the Misratah militia.
The Facebook page said the missiles were being transported from the city of Sabha to Misratah, 600 km to the north.
Satellite imagery shows there was a S-125 battery just north of Sabah, but some of its support vehicles appear to have been destroyed during the NATO-led intervention in 2011. The battery’s three launchers and SNR-125 ‘Low Blow’ target-engagement radar appear to have survived the war, but had been removed by July 2013.
While photographs on the former general’s Facebook page showed the S-125 transporter/loaders and possibly some additional missiles in containers, they did not show the ‘Low Blow’ or other associated components needed to launch the missiles.
Photographs from other sources have also shown the same S-125 transporter-loader vehicles carrying missiles.
It is possible that the Misratah militia is attempting to assemble a functioning S-125 system using components from batteries located in its own city and Sabah. The battery on Misratah’s coast appears to have been bombed in 2011 and the remnants removed sometime between February and June this year. A second battery close to the airport appears to have been removed before the war.
Although Libyan S-125 SAM systems are now obsolete, they could be effective against the MiG-21 and MiG-23 jets being flown by the air force, which are carrying out strikes against Libya Dawn with unguided weapons from altitudes well within the S-125’s engagement envelope.
However, this would depend on the Misratah militia finding personnel with the technical expertise to repair, service, and operate the system. After-action reports from the 2011 conflict have confirmed that Libyan air-defence technicians had the skill to repair S-125 systems after they were hit by NATO aircraft. However, the remnants of the air defence command declared its support for Haftar earlier this year.
Even if it were possible to assemble a SAM system from components that survived the 2011 war, the Libyan Air Force might still be able to neutralise a lone S-125. Libya is known to have imported Kh-28 (AS-9 ‘Kyle’) anti-radiation missiles from the Soviet Union that could be launched from outside the S-125’s engagement envelope to destroy its radar. If none were serviceable, then Haftar’s ally Egypt could supply a similar weapon.
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