Ukraine Offers Missile Defense Cooperation to Israel
October 5, 2006 :: Israel Today :: News
Ukrainian President Victor Yushchenko met with Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres in Berlin, Germany, on Tuesday, October 3, and offered strategic cooperation in the area of ballistic missile defense systems and satellite control systems. According to Israel Today, Yushchenko told Peres: “We will be very glad to cooperate with Israeli scientists and developers in the area of missiles and satellites. Development of advanced technological weaponry could be the basis for further strategic cooperation between the two countries.” The Ukrainian president added that he is planning to visit Israel at the beginning of November with a delegation of business leaders from his country. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Israel, Former Soviet Republics
Congress Boosts Funding For Arrow, SRBMD Programs
October 4, 2006 :: Jane's Information Group :: News
Congress voted to increase funding for two joint U.S.-Israeli ballistic missile defense programs on September 29, reports Jane’s Defence Weekly. The Arrow weapon system, jointly produced by Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) and Boeing, received a $127 million budget for fiscal year 2007, $3 million more than last year’s funding and $40 million more than the Bush administration requested from Congress. Of the $127 million, $63 million is allocated for the production of the Arrow 2 interceptor, and $64 million for the development of the Arrow 2 Block 3 and Block 4 upgraded versions. The system consists of high-altitude interceptors that are capable of shooting down ballistic missiles in the stratosphere during their final descent phase. Currently deployed, Arrow is Israel’s primary defense against intermediate-range Iranian missiles that could carry nuclear warheads.
In addition to its funding for Arrow, Congress approved $25 million for a feasibility study of a short-range ballistic missile defense (SRBMD) initiative currently being conducted by Israel’s Rafael Armament Development Authority and Raytheon. The two companies are designing a new interceptor, known as “Stunner” in the U.S. and “Kela David” in Israel. The program was initiated following the recent Lebanon war, during which Hezbollah fired over 4,000 short-range Katyusha rockets into northern Israel. Israel’s cost requirement was initially $100,000 per interceptor, although industry sources estimate the Stunner will cost around $300,000. The new SRBMD initiative is seeking to build a smaller, cheaper interceptor not exceeding $30,000, with a range of 40-200 km. Sources indicate, however, that the system will not be ready for deployment until 2011 at the earliest.
The Stunner technology, Jane’s reports, is based on “next-generation Rafael Python dual-wave imaging infra-red air-to-air missile technology and advanced low-cost Raytheon tactical missile technology, combined with a radar being developed by Israel Aircraft Industries’ Elta Systems.” (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Israel, Budget, Allies
» Missile system details for: Arrow
Israel Prioritizes Anti-Katyusha Defense Efforts
September 27, 2006 :: Jane's Information Group :: News
Israel has made anti-Katyusha missile defense a top priority following Hezbollah’s rocket blitz on the country’s northern cities in recent months, reports the November issue of Jane’s Missiles and Rockets. On August 19, Israeli Defence Minister Amir Peretz ordered the defense establishment to begin developing an anti-missile system. With Iran and Syria replenishing Hezbollah’s rocket arsenal, Israeli requires a system that can be deployed quickly and presumably with U.S. funding. Peretz has appointed a panel to determine within several months the feasibility of a new laser system known as Skyguard, developed by Northrop Grumman since 2004; as well as other potential systems such as a land-based version of Raytheon’s Phalanx rapid-fire gun system, which would lock onto incoming rockets or mortar rounds and engage them with 20 mm cannon fire.
Jane’s reports, however, that Israel is at odds with the U.S. Army, which has paid the lion’s share of the costs for developing laser-based defense systems over the last decade. In early 2004, the Army shelved a project known as the Mobile Tactical High Energy Laser (MTHEL), developed jointly with Israel, because it was too cumbersome and costly and suffered from technical problems. In addition, the U.S. Army has shown little interest in the Skyguard systems, as it prefers a fully mobile system that can stand up to the rigors of combat in the field. The U.S. is also focusing on solid-state high-energy systems, which run on electrical power rather than the chemicals required for MTHEL variants. Yet working prototypes for such systems are not expected to be ready for another four to five years, a timeframe that does not meet Israel’s requirements. (Link)
» More stories on: Allies, High Energy Defenses, Israel, Terrorism
Carafano: U.S. Should Help Israel Deploy Directed-Energy Defenses
September 23, 2006 :: The Heritage Foundation :: Analysis
The U.S. should help Israel deploy anti-rocket defense using available, proven, directed-energy technologies in less than two years, argues James Jay Carafano of the Heritage Foundation. He notes that the two nations have already jointly developed a short-range laser system, the Mobile Tactical High Energy Laser (MTHEL), but chose not to deploy it. Instead, the Pentagon decided to invest its resources in more advanced directed-energy research that would lead to more mobile systems that could be quickly shifted around the battlefield. Yet prototypes for these new systems will not be available until at least 2013, during which Hezbollah could rearm and instigate another war a half-dozen times. “Congress has an opportunity to jump-start the process by including the necessary funding in the annual defense appropriations bill, but so far, it has let the opportunity pass,” writes Carafano. “The Pentagon doesn’t want the proven directed-energy defenses—an attitude that clearly proves the old adage that the perfect is the enemy of the good. Waiting for futuristic technology won’t help deter war in the Middle East, but deploying a directed-energy defense now will take the threat of rocket wars off the table.” In addition to defending all of Israel’s borders, these systems could be used by the U.S. to defend against short-range missile attacks on commercial aircraft or protect critical infrastructure like nuclear power plants. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Allies, Analysis, High Energy Defenses, Israel, Terrorism
» Missile system details for: Tactical High Energy Laser (THEL)
Israel Decides on Three-Tier Missile Defense
September 7, 2006 :: News
Israel has decided on a three-tier defense against ballistic missiles and rockets, reports Globes Online. The outer tier will destroy incoming ballistic missiles launched from Iran and other countries with Arrow anti-missile interceptors, which Israel has already deployed. The middle tier will intercept missiles launched from Syria and Lebanon. This tier has not been developed yet, but Israel believes that it will be able to develop such a program within five years at a cost of $500 million. The inner tier will intercept short-range Katyushas fired by Hezbullah and Kassams fired by Hamas. Three alternatives have been proposed for the inner tier: the Skyguard laser system developed by Northrop Grumman; an air-to-air missile developed by Rafael; and artillery with a range of up to 10 kilometers. Globes Online reports that Israel has asked Northrop Grumman to provide an assessment of Skyguard’s operational capabilities, effectiveness, development, and deployment costs. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: High Energy Defenses, Israel
U.S. Seeks to Block New Missiles for Hezbollah
September 6, 2006 :: Jane's Information Group :: News
The U.S. is helping Israel prevent Hezbollah from receiving shipments of new missiles to replace the thousands fired or destroyed in the recent 34-day conflict, reports the October 1 issue of Jane’s Missiles and Rockets. The Lebanese-based terrorist organization is currently being resupplied by Iran across Syria’s mountainous western border with Lebanon into the Bekaa Valley, Hezbollah’s strategic center and the location of its main command centers and missile arsenals. Despite massive Israeli air strikes destroying virtually all the bridges and road networks in the region, Israel believes that Iranian missiles are still moving across the Syrian-Lebanese border, mostly along ancient smuggling trails. The U.S. has called for the support of regional allies such as Turkey and Iraq, and has pressured key global arms suppliers such as Russia and China to ensure that these missiles do not reach the Hezbollah. Sources indicate that at least two aircraft flying from Iran to Damascus have been challenged by aviation authorities in Iraq and Turkey, one on July 20 and another two days later. On August 17, seven transports—six Iranian and one Syrian—were forced to land at Dyarbakir, Turkey, after U.S. satellites spotted missiles, including C-802 anti-ship cruise missiles, and launchers being loaded onto them in Iran. According to Israel, however, some flights carrying weapons for Hezbollah have made it to Syria, and have possibly crossed the border into Lebanon. (Link)
» More stories on: Iran, Israel, Proliferation, Syria
Israel Buys Upgraded Nuclear-Capable Submarines
August 23, 2006 :: AFP :: News
Israel has signed a contract with Germany to buy two submarines capable of carrying nuclear weapons, reports the AFP. The new Dolphin-class submarines, called U212s, will be assembled by Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft AG in Germany, and will be bought by Israel for $1.27 billion, a third of which will be financed by the German government. The state-of-the-art submarines will be fitted with an advanced propulsion system allowing them to remain underwater far longer than submarines already in use by the Israeli navy. Each U212 carries a crew of 35, has a range of 4,500 kilometers (2,810 miles), and can launch cruise missiles carrying nuclear warheads. The report of the purchase came one day after Rafi Eitan, an Israeli cabinet minister, warned that Israel should prepare for a ballistic missile attack by Iran. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Israel, Nuclear Weapons, Sea-Based Systems
Israel Examines Skyguard to Counter Hezbollah Rockets
August 15, 2006 :: Reuters :: News
Israel’s defense ministry recently asked the Pentagon for information about Skyguard, a next-generation chemical laser system for intercepting short-range Katyusha and Kassam rockets, reports Reuters. Skyguard is being developed by Northrop Grumman, and is based on the Tactical High Energy Laser, a joint project between the U.S. and Israel in the 1990s that had subsequently been canceled. Israel is reportedly interested in obtaining an export license for Skyguard, which would allow it to deploy the high-energy system to defend strategic sites in northern Israel against Hezbollah’s continuous barrage of short-range rockets. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: High Energy Defenses, Israel, Terrorism
» Missile system details for: Tactical High Energy Laser (THEL)
Codevilla on THEL and Mideast Conflict
August 10, 2006 :: National Review Online :: Analysis
Angelo M. Codevilla, professor of international relations at Boston University and a senior fellow of the Claremont Institute, today discusses the Tactical High Energy Laser (THEL) and the role it might have played in defending Israel against Hezbollah’s Katyusha rockets, had it not been canceled. Codevilla notes that the technical problem in shooting down Katyushas has always been their short flight time, from their appearance over the horizon to their impact, which precludes the use of any normal Patriot-type surface-to-air interceptor missile. Katyushas are cheap and numerous (they are not ballistic missiles) and could easily overwhelm such defenses. The only way to effectively destroy Katyushas in flight, Codevilla notes, is through rapid fire, multi shot, directed energy weapons. During the 1990s, the U.S. and Israel developed such a system known as THEL, and by 1998 the system had been successfully tested against Katyusha rockets at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.
Yet THEL was never deployed in Israel. Codevilla draws two conclusions, first that the decision not to deploy a workable defense is a result of “the flawed McNamara logic of almost a half century ago, that defense was not ‘cost effective.’…But consider the cost of not defending against them: the enemy was able to make a big chunk of the country uninhabitable..” Codevilla’s second point is that the ground-based laser technology is similar to the space based laser project which has also since been abandoned.
Codevilla makes good points about the unique capabilities of the THEL program, which is uniquely suited to the short range artillery such as that facing Israel from Hezbollah terrorists. But much has happened with the THEL program since 2000, including successful testing, upgrades, and the transformation of THEL into “MTHEL,” with a mobile capability.
Codevilla’s analysis omits reports that the U.S.-Israel cooperation on THEL was suspended in 2005 after Israel had transferred technologies to China, or of some other details in the THEL story.
As recent events in Lebanon have again shown, the United States and Israel have many and profound common interests—indeed are somewhat natural allies. To benefit from that natural alliance, Israel should perhaps not be transferring systems to China, which of course sells weapons to Israel’s enemies, including Iran and Pakistan. Israel’s lack of THEL system today may be the result of not just bad strategic thinking about assured destruction from the McNamara era (thinking Israel arguably never adopted), but perhaps also from a lack of clarity in the past about allies. (Article, Link)
» July 12, 2006: Northrop Grumman unveils Skyguard program, apparent reincarnation of THEL
» May 18, 2005: Glick: Cooperation on THEL suspended because of Israeli tech transfer to China
» More stories on: Analysis, Israel
» Missile system details for: Tactical High Energy Laser (THEL), Tactical High Energy Laser (THEL)
Iran Admits Supplying Zelzal-2 Missiles to Hezbollah
August 5, 2006 :: Jerusalem Post :: News
Iran has admitted supplying Zelzal-2 short-range ballistic missiles to the Hezbollah terrorist organization, reports The Jerusalem Post. Mohtashami Pur, Secretary-General of the Iranian “Intifada Conference” told an Iranian newspaper yesterday that Iran transferred the missiles so that they could be used to defend Lebanon.
The Zelzal-2 (“earthquake” in Farsi) is believed to have a range of anywhere from 120 to 400 kilometers, and would be capable of striking Tel Aviv if launched successfully. The Israeli Defense Force estimates that it has destroyed almost two-thirds of Hezbollah’s Zelzal-2 arsenal, according to The Jerusalem Post. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Iran, Israel, Proliferation, Terrorism
» Missile details: Zelzal-1/2/3
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