Hezbollah's rocket force

The mainstay of Hezbollah's rocket force are small 122mm artillery rockets known by the generic term "Katyusha". The name - which means "little Katy" in Russian - was coined more than 60 years ago by Soviet Red Army troops who fired them at the invading German army.

During World War II the Katyushas' distinctive screech cast a powerful psychological spell over the enemy. In northern Israel today, later versions of the rocket remain crude, yet often effective, weapons.

SHORT RANGE

Hezbollah's Katyushas are thought to derive mainly from former Soviet and Chinese stockpiles. A typical example is the Soviet BM-21 Grad missile, which was first deployed in 1963 and has a maximum range of about 25km.

Because of their lack of a guidance system, Katyushas have the greatest effect when launched in concentrated numbers.

Since 2001, Hezbollah is believed to have acquired a number of truck-mounted Multi-Barrel Rocket Launchers [MRBL], enabling them to fire such multiple barrages.

Images broadcast recently by Hezbollah's TV station appeared to show what the group described as a Ra-ad 1 missile being fired. Military analysts believe this missile was an Iranian-built Shahin I missile, which has a range of about 13km.

LONGER RANGE

Recent missile strikes on Israel's northern port city of Haifa indicate that Hezbollah may also have acquired longer-range missiles.

Most of these are believed to be Iranian-manufactured systems like the Fajr-3, with a 45-km range; the Fajr-5, with a range of some 75km.

Some analysts believe that Hezbollah also has the more potent Zelzal-2 which has a claimed range of 200-400km and can be fitted with a 600kg high-explosive warhead. Its solid fuel system means that it can be more easily transported and prepared for firing.

Most analysts believe a more realistic range to be about 100km, but this would still bring much of Tel Aviv - Israel's largest population centre - within its range.

None of these are guided or accurate systems, but often accuracy is not important if the target is an urban area.