| Country: |
Israel |
| Associated Country: |
France |
| Alternate Name: |
YA-1 |
| Class: |
SRBM |
| Basing: |
Road mobile |
| Length: |
13.40 m |
| Diameter: |
0.80 m |
| Launch Weight: |
6700 kg |
| Payload: |
Single warhead |
| Warhead: |
450 kg; Nuclear 20 kT, HE |
| Propulsion: |
2-stage solid |
| Range: |
500 km |
| Status: |
Obsolete |
| In Service: |
1973-? |
Details
The Jericho 1 is a short-range, road mobile, solid propellant ballistic missile. Its primary function is as a strike weapon against Israel's hostile neighbors and can be equipped for a conventional, chemical, or nuclear response.
The Jericho 1 is believed to have entered development in 1962 with the assistance of the French company Marcel-Dassault. It is believed that 16 test launches took place between 1965 and 1968, of which 10 were successful. In 1973, the missile entered service, originally deployed in caves in Zacharia, south-west of Tel Aviv.
The initial deployment of the Jericho 1 was significant in that it gave Israel the ability to counter any military attack with nuclear weapons. Though Israel has stated that it will not be the first to deploy nuclear weapons, the Jericho 1 was also a deterrent against a conventional invasion by threatening escalation. The range on the Jericho 1 is sufficient to strike major hostile cities such as Damascus and Cairo from secured launch locations. In the wake of the 1973 war, this deterrent against a future Syrian or Egyptian attack was critical.
The Jericho 1's maximum range was approximately 500 km (310 miles) and it carried a payload of 650 kg, reportedly either a 450 kg high explosive or 20 kT nuclear warhead. Considering the size of the payload, this yield is low and could have been increased in the future. In fact, reports indicate that an upgraded version of the Jericho 1 was designed to do precisely that. The Jericho 1 had a launch weight of 6,700 kg, a length of 13.4 m, and a width of 0.8 m. It used a two-stage solid propellant engine with a separating warhead and a reported accuracy of 1000 m CEP. It could be launched from a railroad flat truck or a mobile vehicle.
It is currently believed that all Jericho 1 missiles have been taken out of service and replaced with the superior Jericho 2 design.(1)
Footnotes
1. Duncan Lennox, ed., Jane’s Strategic Weapons Systems 46 (Surrey: Jane’s Information Group, January 2007), 82-83.
