Al-Watah ballistic missile base
| Al-Watah ballistic missile base | |
|---|---|
  Al-Watah ballistic missile base | |
| Type | Missile base |
| Site information | |
| Owner | Royal Saudi Strategic Missile Force |
| Controlled by | Saudi Arabia |
| Site history | |
| Built | 2007 |
Al-Watah ballistic missile base is a ballistic missile facility near the town of Al-Watah, Saudi Arabia, 200 km west-southwest of Riyadh, in the low but quite rocky mountains. [1] The analysts think that the base was built no earlier than 2008. The communication tower of the base is situated at coordinates: Coordinates: Longitude could not be parsed as a number:44.7019.52
{{#coordinates:}}: invalid longitude.
The base has several underground entry gates, parking slots for mobile launchers and two large launch pads that are identical to ones that can be seen at Chinese DF-3 (CSS-2) Dongfeng missile bases.
The liquid-fueled DF-3A is an early Chinese nuclear weapon Intermediate-range ballistic missile and is believed to have a range of 2,500 - 2,800 km with a 2,000 kg warhead.[2]
The launch pads' marks and configuration from satellite images[3] show that the base is 'targeting Iran and Israel with ballistic missiles'.[4]
References
- ^ Sean O'Connor - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly. "Saudi ballistic missile site revealed", IHS Jane's Defence Weekly, 10 July 2013.
- ^ SinoDefence "DongFeng 3 (CSS-2) Intermediate-Range Ballistic Missile", sinodefence, 27 February 2009.
- ^ Colin Freeman - The Telegraph "Saudi Arabia 'targeting Iran and Israel with ballistic missiles", The Telegraph, 10 July 2013.
- ^ Cheryl K. Chumley - The Washington Times "Saudi Arabia targeting Israel, Iran with ballistic missiles, satellite images show", The Washington Times, 12 July 2013.