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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Israel Enhances Aerial, Maritime Capabilities |
| 2007-11-14 |
| by Hillel Fendel Israel's new, state-of-art satellite surveillance system is reported to have been key in the September 6 raid in Syria. Alongside the innovative space system, the Israeli Navy is upgrading its fast patrol fleet. The weekly journal Aviation Week reports that Israel employed several new intelligence-gathering and strike systems in its recent strike on what some say was a Syrian nuclear facility. The attack was made possible by a new reconnaissance satellite, the Ofek-7, launched this past June. Brig. Gen. Haim Eshet, director of space programming at Israel's Defense Research and Development Directorate, told Aviation Week that Ofeq-7 has upgraded the IDF's operational capabilities by dozens of percent. He said that the pictures provided by the satellite are improved by imagery enhancement algorithms which deliver a sharp image of the target in real time to combat forces enabling precision bombing. Another senior IDF officer told the prestigious magazine that in some areas, the operational capabilities of the satellite far surpass what one could conceive of in his imagination. The primary aircraft for the Syrian raid, Aviation Week reports, were some of the new, two-man F-16Is (Sufa or Storm) that Lockheed Martin began delivering to the Israeli air force (IAF) in February 2004. Sensors on the $45-million F-16I include radar with high-resolution synthetic aperture mapping capability, 30% more range than other mechanically-scanned radars. Doubling the Navy's Fast-Patrol Fleet On the Israeli maritime front, the navy will soon receive the first of seven fast patrol craft, which will nearly double its coastal defense capabilities. The new craft include four Super Dvora Mk-IIIs, made by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), and three Shaldags (Kingfishers) manufactured by Israel Shipyards. The deliveries will begin this month, and all seven are scheduled to have arrived by the end of 2009. Israel already has eight fast patrol vessels - six Super Dvoras and two Shaldags - that it deployed over the past three years. In addition to traditional patrol, search-and-rescue and coastal-defense roles, the ships will be optimized for counterterrorism, anti-infiltration and weapon-smuggling missions, defense officials told DefenseNews.com. Designed for rapid acceleration to top speeds of about 50 knots, the ships can accommodate crews of up to 10. The Super Dvora measures 25 meters long and 5.65 meters wide, while the Shaldag is slightly shorter and wider. They will be armed with a manual 20mm cannon on the stern, two smaller machine guns on each side, and the Rafael Typhoon, a 25mm automated cannon. Israel's technological-military prowess continues to have a market abroad, as well. The latest likely customer is Turkey, which is reportedly negotiating for the purchase of an Arrow ballistic missile defense system and a model of the Ofek satellite. |
| Posted by:anonymous5089 |
| #1 Brig. Gen. Haim Eshet ... told Aviation Week that Ofeq-7 has upgraded the IDF's operational capabilities by dozens of percent. Not quite as good as scores of percent but definitely on the way to baker's dozens of percent. |
| Posted by: Excalibur 2007-11-14 09:10 |