page_title: Hezbollah armed strength
section_title: Anti-armor
hierarchical_section_title: Hezbollah armed strength / Military / Anti-armor
caption_attribution_description: Weaponry captured by IDF forces in Southern Lebanon. (note: it is unknown whether this is a Toophan missile, a TOW missile, or some combination of them both.[1])
context_page_description: Hezbollah has the armed strength of a medium-sized army. Hezbollah is generally considered the most powerful non-state actor in the world, and to be stronger than the Lebanese Army. A hybrid force, the group maintains "robust conventional and unconventional military capabilities." The party's fighting strength has grown substantially since the 2006 Lebanon War.
  Hezbollah does not reveal its manpower and estimates vary widely. In 2017, Jane's assessed that Hezbollah had more than 25,000 full-time fighters and perhaps 20,000–30,000 reservists. They are financed in part by Iran and trained by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Hezbollah's military budget runs about one billion dollars per year.
  Hezbollah's military strength is somewhat based on the quantity and quality of the rockets they possess, which they use against their primary enemy, Israel. The group's strategy against Israel uses rockets as offensive weaponry combined with light infantry and anti-armor units to defend their firing positions in southern Lebanon. Estimates of Hezbollah's total rocket count range from 40,000 to 150,000, which is considerably more than most countries.
context_section_description: Hezbollah's anti-armor capabilities consist of ATGM teams with 5 or 6 fighters. The typical team had two highly trained operators, within Hezbollah called "tank snipers" or "Mirkava fighters," and two or three porters to move the heavy missiles. Fighters are trained in anti-tank weapons, ambushes, and camouflage. Hezbollah apparently stole a combat simulator from Fouad Shehab Command and Staff College and uses it to train anti-tank teams. Reportedly, in the 2006 war, Hezbollah's most skilled anti-tank teams were held back in reserve in expectation of a major Israeli attack and did not see combat. One of Hezbollah's common tactics was to wait under cover for an Israeli vehicle to pass by, then attack from the rear, where the armor is weakest. Fighters swarm Israeli tanks with dozens of cheap ATGMs to strip off reactive armor and active protection systems, then use a powerful missile like a Kornet, Toophan or RPG-29 to destroy the tank. ATGM teams also target individual soldiers and occupied buildings with missiles. They operate alongside infantry as part of combined arms. To avoid airstrikes and counter-fire, the teams rely heavily on mobility. Since 2006, Hezbollah seems to have made more of an effort to use recoilless rifles and cheap ATGMs in their swarming mix.
  In 2006, about 12–15% of Hezbollah's forces were part of ATGM teams. They successfully integrated ATGM teams with indirect fire, which gave the group the ability to reposition their forces and conduct more efficient ambushes. ATGM teams could engage Israel at a range of several kilometers, giving Hezbollah standoff capability. Anti-tank tactics had some success and were the main source of Israeli casualties, accounting for at least 50 deaths. In addition to using their weapons with skill, Hezbollah also used a wide range of anti-tank missiles, which posed problems for the IDF.
  The New York Times reports that 20% of ATGM attacks on tanks caused casualties or penetrated armor, but Israeli military reports suggest this number was higher, at 45%. Hezbollah fought battles of maneuver and attacked fortified Israeli positions. Hezbollah's strategic maneuving capability is a main weakness, but the party's skills in tactical maneuvering are "proficient". Although the fighters were highly mobile within their areas of operation, strategically Hezbollah's defensive position was basically static. The IAF's overwhelming firepower and communication problems meant that retreating or attacking were rarely possible. Instead of retreating, Hezbollah members took off their uniforms and disappeared into the civilian population. Hezbollah conducted ambushes that separated Israeli infantry from armor units and inflicted more casualties per Arab fighter than any of Israel's previous opponents.  However, ATGM teams had poor night-fighting capacity and were slow to regroup when retreating.
caption: A Hezbollah Toophan ATGM in 2006.
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