Israel is upgrading its Arrow II ballistic missile shield in a US-backed “race” against Iran, Syria and other regional enemies, a senior Israeli defense official said yesterday.
The new “Block 4” generation of guided interceptor rockets, radars and technologies for synchronizing Arrow with US systems was being installed in deployed Israeli batteries, a process that would take several weeks, the official said.
“The accuracy and the reach will be greater,” the official said of Arrow, which has been operational since 2000 and is designed to blow up incoming missiles at altitudes high enough for non-conventional warheads to disintegrate safely.
Photo: Reuters
“It is part of the technological race in the region,” added the official, who declined to be named given the sensitivity of the issue.
Long jittery about Iran’s disputed nuclear program, Israel has more recently worried the Syrian insurgency could loosen Damascus’s hold on its chemical weapons and Scud missiles.
Israel has threatened to attack preemptively in both countries, a prospect that could trigger wider war and clash with Washington’s efforts to resolve the crises diplomatically.
The Pentagon and US firm Boeing Co are partners in Arrow, an investment that US President Brack Obama’s administration hopes will help stay the Israelis’ hand.
US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta said last week that Arrow, like a similar Israeli interceptor for short-range guerrilla rockets, Iron Dome, were “designed to prevent wars.”
Iran, which denies seeking nuclear weapons, has vowed reprisals for any Israeli attack, and on Saturday unveiled a new missile. Syria, for its part, last month went public with its chemical arsenal, saying it was intended for last-resort use against “external aggression.”
Tehran also has Islamist guerrilla allies in Lebanon and Gaza who could shell Israel during any regional conflict. Their short-range rocket arsenals have been expanding and improving as well, the senior Israeli defense official said.
Having helped underwrite Arrow, the US was free to draw on its technologies for their own uses, the official said.
“The policy of the [Israeli] Ministry of Defense is to provide all data to the US, for the security of the US, including on targets, interceptors, radars and command and control,” the official said.
With US Congress also lavishing cash on Iron Dome, some US lawmakers have called on Israel to share that system, too.
The Israeli official said that though Iron Dome was different to Arrow as it was developed entirely by Israel, the current policy was to provide the Americans data upon request while a more permanent arrangement is negotiated.
In parallel to Arrow II, Israel is developing Arrow III, which is due to be operational in 2014 or 2015. Unlike previous generations of the interceptor, Arrow III will engage incoming missiles in space, using detachable warheads that, turning into “kamikaze” satellites, will seek out and slam into the target.
Israel is also working on a more powerful rocket interceptor than Iron Dome, known as David’s Sling or Magic Wand, which is due out next year. Meshed together and with US counterparts, the three Israeli systems would form a multi-tier shield providing several opportunities to intercept incoming missiles.
TURNAROUND: The Liberal Party had trailed the Conservatives by a wide margin, but that was before Trump threatened to make Canada the US’ 51st state Canada’s ruling Liberals, who a few weeks ago looked certain to lose an election this year, are mounting a major comeback amid the threat of US tariffs and are tied with their rival Conservatives, according to three new polls. An Ipsos survey released late on Tuesday showed that the left-leaning Liberals have 38 percent public support and the official opposition center-right Conservatives have 36 percent. The Liberals have overturned a 26-point deficit in six weeks, and run advertisements comparing the Conservative leader to Trump. The Conservative strategy had long been to attack unpopular Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, but last month he
OPTIMISTIC: A Philippine Air Force spokeswoman said the military believed the crew were safe and were hopeful that they and the jet would be recovered A Philippine Air Force FA-50 jet and its two-person crew are missing after flying in support of ground forces fighting communist rebels in the southern Mindanao region, a military official said yesterday. Philippine Air Force spokeswoman Colonel Consuelo Castillo said the jet was flying “over land” on the way to its target area when it went missing during a “tactical night operation in support of our ground troops.” While she declined to provide mission specifics, Philippine Army spokesman Colonel Louie Dema-ala confirmed that the missing FA-50 was part of a squadron sent “to provide air support” to troops fighting communist rebels in
PROBE: Last week, Romanian prosecutors launched a criminal investigation against presidential candidate Calin Georgescu accusing him of supporting fascist groups Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Romania’s capital on Saturday in the latest anti-government demonstration by far-right groups after a top court canceled a presidential election in the EU country last year. Protesters converged in front of the government building in Bucharest, waving Romania’s tricolor flags and chanting slogans such as “down with the government” and “thieves.” Many expressed support for Calin Georgescu, who emerged as the frontrunner in December’s canceled election, and demanded they be resumed from the second round. George Simion, the leader of the far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR), which organized the protest,
ECONOMIC DISTORTION? The US commerce secretary’s remarks echoed Elon Musk’s arguments that spending by the government does not create value for the economy US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Sunday said that government spending could be separated from GDP reports, in response to questions about whether the spending cuts pushed by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency could possibly cause an economic downturn. “You know that governments historically have messed with GDP,” Lutnick said on Fox News Channel’s Sunday Morning Futures. “They count government spending as part of GDP. So I’m going to separate those two and make it transparent.” Doing so could potentially complicate or distort a fundamental measure of the US economy’s health. Government spending is traditionally included in the GDP because
RSS