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5 février 2013 2 05 /02 /février /2013 08:35

 

Iron Dome source Rafael

 

3/2/2013 IsraelDefense

 

Israeli Rafael to present a variety of air defense systems it is developing at the AeroIndia 2013 exhibition

 

The Israeli defense company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems will present a wide range of capabilities and technologies at the AeroIndia 2013 exhibition, which will begin this week in India. In the framework of the expo, the company will present numerous air defense systems for the first time, including the Iron Dome system for countering short-range missiles and rockets.

 

Other items that will be presented at the exhibition are the Stunner missile, the David’s Sling interceptor system for protecting against medium-range missiles and rockets, the Spyder air defense system based on the Python-5 and Derby surface-to-air missiles and the MIC4AD, a command and control air and missile defense systems. In the field of precision armaments, Rafael will present the Spice system – an advanced precision system that provides advanced capabilities to ordinary bombs, and the Spike family of electro-optic multi-purpose missiles for ranges of up to 25 kilometers, which can be launched from a variety of platforms.

 

Rafael will also display the RecceLite pod, an electro-optic system for real-time observation and intelligence collection; the Lightening electro-optic attack and navigation pod for combat aircraft; the multi-sensory ImiLite system for reception, processing and distribution of intelligence information originating from many intelligence platforms, communication systems and more.

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4 février 2013 1 04 /02 /février /2013 19:39

Missile Defence Bowls

 

TEL AVIV, Israel, Feb. 4 (UPI)

 

Israel may be on the brink of major defense sales to India following a visit by India's air force commander, Air Marshal Nak Browne.

 

Military sources say Browne was particularly interested in upgrading India's fleet of Israeli-built unmanned surveillance vehicles and acquiring the advanced missile defense systems that Israel's high-tech defense industry, the most advanced in the Middle East, is developing.

 

India has been discussing a possible "buy and build" deal involving the Iron Dome system, the only one of four air-defense systems under development to have been tested in combat, for some time.

 

The Indians also want to produce the system, developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, under license.

 

Israel's Globes business daily reported in December that the Indians say Israel has agreed to such a sale. But there could be a major hitch because the United States provided much of the financing for Iron Dome's development and the Pentagon may not want the technology transferred to India, even though it's a leading U.S. ally.

 

India has also expressed interest in Israel's Arrow-2 anti-ballistic missile system manufactured by Israel Aerospace Industries and the Boeing Co. of the United States. But the technology transfer involved could impede any sale since U.S. approval would be required.

 

With a significant slowdown in the growth of high-tech exports to the United States and Europe, Israeli defense exporters are shifting their marketing focus to Asia.

 

Browne, who visited Israel in late January, met with outgoing Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz and Israeli air force commander Maj. Gen. Amir Eshel.

 

The Indian air chief served in Israel as India's first military attache after New Delhi recognized India in 1997.

 

India is the world's biggest arms importer. Its total military expenditure in 2011, excluding nuclear weapons, was $44.28 billion, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute states.

 

India is expected to spend up to $150 billion at home and abroad on modernizing its military over the next decade but the Indian government and military chiefs have urged an accelerated drive to build up a national defense industry to reduce military imports and is pressing suppliers like Israel to participate in joint ventures if they want a piece of India's defense business.

 

New Delhi also wants to bolster self-reliance as it seeks to extend its military reach beyond its home waters, in part to counter Chinese expansion into the Indian Ocean.

 

In October 2012, Israel Aerospace Industries, flagship of the Jewish state's defense sector, reportedly secured a $958 million contract from India's military to upgrade its IAI-built Heron and Searcher unmanned aerial vehicles.

 

UAVs are some of the biggest money-spinners for Israel's defense industry and India, which is engaged in a massive multiyear rearmament program, is a key customer.

 

Indian media reported that the deal covered some 150 UAVs acquired from IAI since the 1990s that are operated by India's army, air force and navy.

 

IAI won a $1.1 billion deal with the Indian navy in 2009 to provide advanced Barak-8 tactical air-defense missile systems for its warships.

 

The Indian army is jointly funding a project to adapt the Barak 8 into a multi-purpose weapons system.

 

Also in 2009, Rafael secured a $1 billion contract with New Delhi for 18 Spyder surface-to-air missile systems by 2012.

 

IAI sold the Indian air force three Phalcon early warning aircraft worth $1.1 billion in 2004.

 

All told, Israeli companies have sold India weapons and other military systems worth more than $10 billion over the last decade or so.

 

In 2007, Israel dislodged France as India's second largest arms supplier after Russia but there have been bumps.

 

In March 2012, India blacklisted state-owned Israel Military Industries, a major arms manufacturer, barring it from bidding for Indian defense contracts for 10 years on suspicion of involvement in a 2009 corruption scandal.

 

Israel's Haaretz daily observed at the time that the Indian decision was "expected to significantly impact IMI's activities in India, as well as that of other Israeli defense firms."

 

Israel is now one of the world's leading arms exporters, with most of its key customers in Asia and the developing world.

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2 février 2013 6 02 /02 /février /2013 23:11

Hargfang pic12 source FB Armee de l Air

 

02.02.2013 IsraelValley Desk - Défense

 

Les drones “Français” sont au Mali. Une news parue récemment mentionne que le Harfang contient du savoir faire israélien.

 

"Le magazine wired fait un zoom sur l’arsenal français déployé au Mali et illustre son analyse avec la photo d’un drone Harfang. Le média américain écrit en légende: le « franco-drone » pour mieux rappeler que l’avion sans pilote français est en fait une adaptation du Heron israélien. Wired mentionne les états de service du Harfang en Afghanistan et souligne qu’avec le retrait des forces françaises, il est désormais disponible pour d’autres théâtres d’opérations.

 

Une intuition confirmée en exclusivité par Jean Dominique Merchet dans Secret Défense qui annonce le déploiement aujourd’hui de deux drones Harfang au Mali. Il précise que la France en possède 4 et qu’ils ont non seulement servi en Afghanistan mais aussi en Libye. Les appareils confirme-t-il seront basés à Niamey soit à 700 km du théâtre des opérations et passeront la moitié de leur temps en vol de transit.

 

Defense Industry met pour sa part un peu les pieds dans le plat en rappelant que la France souhaite s’orienter dans un avenir proche vers des drones de combat. Il est donc question de drones Harfang améliorés et armés…à 25 millions de dollars le système. L’ alternative serait le Watchkeeper en version combat ou entre autres, le MQ9 Reaper qui pourrait larguer les fameuses bombes guidées AASM…

 

Pour ce qui est du Harfang, Defense industry précise que les appareils nécessitent la présence d’une équipe importante affectée à 3 stations au sol. La première planifie les missions, la seconde contrôle le drone et reçoit la vidéo par liaison satellite et la troisième traite les images recueillies. Au total 9 personnes pour chaque mission. 4 pilotes qui se relaient, 2 agents de renseignements, 2 analystes photos, et un agent qui recoupe les informations relatives au théâtre d’opération. Sans parler de 15 techniciens pour les tests, les réglages et la maintenance.

 

Anecdote croustillante, Defense Industry rappelle les propos d’Hervé Morin en 2010 devant la commission de défense de l’assemblée nationale, le ministre se plaignait alors du manque de coopération israélien pour les pièces de rechanges des Harfang.

 

Verbatim: « Nous avons encore du retard par rapport aux drones existants, que ce soit par rapport aux drones américains comme le Predator ou aux drones israéliens, qui constituent la base du SIDM (système intérimaire de drones MALE). Nous rencontrons d’ailleurs quelques problèmes de réparation sur ce matériel, les Israéliens n’étant pas toujours très coopératifs en la matière. »

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29 janvier 2013 2 29 /01 /janvier /2013 13:35

http://img683.imageshack.us/img683/2696/15mrsam.jpg

 

Jan. 28, 2013 - By VIVEK RAGHUVANSHI  - Defense News

 

NEW DELHI — The Indian government has asked Israel to speed up development of its joint medium-range surface-to-air missile (MRSAM) project, which has faced technical snags since its inception in 2009.

 

MRSAM topped the agenda when Air Chief Marshal N.K. Browne, commander of the Indian Air Force, visited Israel last week, Ministry of Defence sources said here.

 

During his Jan. 21-23 visit, Browne was scheduled to meet with Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak; Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz, chief of the General Staff; Maj. Gen. Amir Eshel, commander of the Israeli Air Force; and Rear Adm. Ophir Shohaim, director of the Directorate for Defense Research and Development.

 

Browne also discussed with the Israelis air-to-air missiles and precision-guided munitions that India might want to acquire.

 

The MRSAM, a joint weapon development project being undertaken by India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), along with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), seeks to deliver at least 18 firing units along with related systems at a cost of more than $2 billion. Each firing unit has 16 missiles. India also hopes the system can be used by the Indian Army, but that remains unclear, the sources said.

 

The MRSAM prototype failed its first test, held late last year, Defence Ministry sources said, but they provided no details. Development is being carried out under secrecy here.

 

MRSAM is intended to intercept enemy missiles at a range of 70 kilometers. It carries an active radar seeker and a bidirectional data link for midcourse guidance and kill assessment, an Indian Air Force official said. It will also be equipped with an advanced rotating phased array radar to provide a high-quality air situation picture.

 

The Indian Army also has a requirement for an unspecified number of MRSAMs to move with mechanized forces and provide organic mobile air defense protection. The Army requirement of MRSAM is also worth more than $2 billion.

 

Defence Ministry sources said that in addition to discussions on MRSAM, Browne reviewed information from the Israelis on air-to-air missiles and precision-guided munitions that India could acquire.

 

The Air Force already has purchased 18 Spyder surface-to-air missile systems from Israeli company Rafael to protect high-value assets following the failure of India’s homegrown Quick Reaction System, the Trishul, after nearly 15 years of development.

 

Last year, the Air Force bought the Israeli Derby medium-range active radar seeker air-to-air missile, made by Rafael, to be mounted on the homemade Light Combat Aircraft, which the DRDO is developing. Earlier, the Air Force had purchased Israeli Python-5 air-to-air missile systems.

 

Israel also has helped Indian scientists develop the homemade Prithvi air defense ballistic missile system. Though no formal agreement has been signed, DRDO and Israel are developing India’s land attack missile project, including a land attack cruise missile.

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20 janvier 2013 7 20 /01 /janvier /2013 08:50

yourfile

source FG

 

18 Jan 2013 by Arie Egozi - FG

 

Tel Aviv - Israel Aerospace Industries is awaiting decisions in two unmanned air system competitions in France and Germany, with the outcomes to be announced from as soon as early this year.

 

The turboprop-engined Heron TP is currently on offer to both nations, with sources suggesting that Berlin could make a decision by the end of the first quarter. IAI is offering the medium-altitude, long-endurance type in association with Rheinmetall Airborne Systems, against the General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Predator B.

 

 

IAI waits on European UAS decisions

Israeli sources suggest that France could make a choice in its UAS contest by mid-year, with the Heron TP and Predator B also in contention.

 

IAI has identified the future sale of missiles, UAS and special mission aircraft as being among its main growth engines in the coming years. Israeli defence analysts note that these areas are also receiving the largest share of the company's research and development budget.

 

Meanwhile, after a number of years in which there were doubts about IAI's ability to maintain its space activities due to receiving few contracts, there are signs of change.

 

The company has recently won deals to build the Amos-4 and Amos-6 communication satellites for Israel, and will also develop and manufacture an observation satellite for Italian company Telespazio for $182 million as part of an offest arrangement linked to the Israeli air force's selection of the Alenia Aermacchi M-346 advanced jet trainer. IAI will also supply the Italian air force with two Gulfstream G550-based conformal airborne early warning and control system aircraft under the relationship.

 

It is also believed that the backlog of IAI's space division includes new spy satellites in the Offeq series, as Israel will have to launch new examples.

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20 novembre 2012 2 20 /11 /novembre /2012 08:56

f-16 photo IDF

 

Nov. 19, 2012 - By BARBARA OPALL-ROME  Defense News

 

TEL AVIV — With some 70,000 Israeli troops poised for prospective ground war in Gaza, political leaders here are again grappling with the costs versus benefits of supplementing standoff strikes with boots on the ground.

 

The old argument of “F-16 versus M16” — coined by retired Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, former Israeli military chief of staff— will likely be settled in the coming days, if not sooner.

 

But unlike Israel’s last combined air-sea and ground campaign to protect the homefront from Gaza-launched rockets, this time proponents of standoff-only attack have a new arrow in their quiver: the nearly 85 percent effective rate of Iron Dome intercepting batteries.

 

Commanders from Israel’s 2008-2009 Cast Lead operation surmise that had then-Prime Minister Ehud Olmert been able to protect the homefront with an active defense system like Iron Dome, he would not have opted to supplement eight days of largely precision standoff strikes with a grueling, two-week ground war.

 

“In Cast Lead, we didn’t have the breathing space provided by Iron Dome. We didn’t have the full benefits of precise and selective early warning and we didn’t have a disciplined homefront,” a former top Israeli military commander told Defense News.

 

“Then they didn’t have a choice. The political echelon determined that the only way to take care of the rockets, impose quiet and bolster deterrence was through a combination of F-16s and M16s. But now, it’s a different story,” he said.

 

According to the former commander, Israel has not yet realized the maximum effect of airstrikes.

 

“We haven’t yet squeezed out the full effectiveness. If conditions allow us another two or three days of intensified and punishing standoff attacks, we should be able to end this without getting back into Gaza.”

 

1,400 Targets Destroyed

 

At the end of day six of Israel’s so-called Operation Pillar of Defense, the Israeli military says it attacked some 1,400 targets throughout Gaza, most of them from the air, with support from Israel Navy missile boats.

 

Attack operations started with the aerial assassination of Hamas Military Commander Ahmed al-Jabari, followed by strategic assaults on most of the 60-kilometer range Fajr-5 missiles smuggled into the Gaza Strip from Iran. By late last week, after hundreds of attacks on weapon storage sites, including underground stockpiles of 40-kilometer-range Grad rockets, Israel stepped up targeting operations against command posts, communications centers and public buildings viewed as symbols of the Hamas government.

 

In the past few days, in parallel with continued attacks on weapon sites and hunter-killer operations against rocket-launching squads and other so-called targets of opportunity, Israel began making phone calls to residents of specific buildings, warning them to evacuate before striking private homes of Hamas leaders.

 

As of late Nov. 19, Gaza’s Ministry of Health had reported 95 killed, 26 of them children, in the standoff attacks. And while the ministry does not differentiate among militant fighters targeted by Israel and uninvolved innocents, the death toll from 1,400 attacks appears to mark a new record for precision strike operations.

 

In comparison to the previous air war in Gaza, in which precision munitions were used in 81 percent of aerial attacks, 140 militants along with another 37 innocents were killed in just the first day of airstrikes.

 

In a Nov. 19 interview, Mazin Qumsiyeh, a Palestinian professor at Bethlehem and Birzeit universities in the West Bank, acknowledged that casualties thus far appear to be much lower than Israel’s last war in Gaza.

 

“Yes, the casualties are lower than ever before. But even if it’s true that Israel has changed its tactics — which I don’t believe — most Palestinians will not appreciate it. They’ll judge from their prior experiences with Israeli brutality,” said Qumsiyeh.

 

“What we’re seeing is a historic precedent for precision-strike operations, and it proves that the strategy of maximum damage with minimum victims is working,” said retired Israel Air Force Brig. Gen. Assaf Agmon, director of the Fisher Institute for Strategic Air & Space Studies.

 

“Each target is checked multiple times, the weaponry is carefully selected and the intelligence is persistent and precise. If they’re able to keep this up, it appears that operational objectives can be secured with our legitimacy intact without the need for ground forces,” said Agmon.

 

Nevertheless, experts and analysts warn that the option for ground invasion remains very much alive, and could be triggered if just one Hamas-launched missile manages to leak through the Iron Dome and extract heavy Israeli casualties.

 

“We can’t get addicted to Iron Dome and we also need to remember that a 70,000-strong ground force cannot remain waiting at the border indefinitely,” another former Israeli commander warned.

 

According to the retired major general, Israel’s ground option will remain viable for only a few more days before economic and other pressures force either a political green light for a ground invasion or cancellation of reserve call-up orders.

 

“Several things can still happen that will drag this into a much bloodier story,” he said.

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17 novembre 2012 6 17 /11 /novembre /2012 22:35

iron dome photo IDF

 

Nov. 17, 2012 - By BARBARA OPALL-ROME  Defense News

 

Simulations Meet Reality Amid Cross-Border Escalations

 

TEL AVIV — The largest Israel-U.S. air defense drill concluded last week under combat conditions as simulations and preplanned live fire were conducted amid actual rocket salvos from Gaza and escalation along Israel’s long-dormant border with Syria.

 

Multifront engagement scenarios designed for the thousands of U.S. and Israeli forces participating in Austere Challenge 2012 grew exceedingly realistic in the closing days of the biennial drill, as operators and joint task force commanders from U.S. European Command (EUCOM) witnessed at least four operational intercepts by the Israeli Iron Dome.

 

By the time the drill culminated Nov. 12 with live fire from U.S. Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (Pac-3) missiles, more than 120 rockets — including extended-range Grads — had been fired at the Israeli homefront, forcing hundreds of thousands of residents within 40 kilometers of the border into shelters. On Nov. 14, a day after the drill officially concluded, the Israeli military launched “Operation Pillar of Defense,” a widespread aerial campaign aimed at reducing the rocket and missile threat from Gaza.

 

In parallel, Israeli forces last week fired their first shots into Syria since the 1973 war in response to stray shells from the ongoing Syrian civil war that landed in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights.

 

Israeli military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yoav Mordechai said the two separate engagements with Syria — warning shots Nov. 11 and a direct hit on a Syrian artillery launcher Nov. 12 — offered a clear message to Syrian President Bashar Assad that Israel would not tolerate spillover from internal Syrian clashes into Israeli territory.

 

At week’s end, as most of the 1,000 or so U.S. military personnel stationed in Israel for the drill were making their way back to Germany, Israel’s Northern Command remained on high alert for threats from Syria. Down south, Iron Dome batteries were activated against the rocket threat while the Israel Air Force intensified airstrikes against weapon storage sites, smuggling tunnels and other targets throughout the Hamas-administered Gaza Strip.

 

“These are very difficult days [which require] further bilateral cooperation in defense against future missile threats, as well as persistent operations against Hamas and the Iranian terror threat in Gaza, which is likely to intensify and expand,” Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak told reporters.

 

Barak hailed the Austere Challenge drill for underscoring the deep cooperation between the two militaries and for bolstering Israeli deterrence.

 

In a press call before the drill, U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Craig Franklin, commander of the Third Air Force and regional air defense commander for EUCOM, said the $30 million drill, known as AC12, marked the largest in the history of U.S.-Israeli strategic cooperation. It involved Pac-3 batteries, an Aegis cruiser, the U.S.-operated AN/TPY-2 X-band radar deployed here and advanced communications links enabling simulated joint task force operations.

 

Overall, more than 3,500 U.S. military personnel, from multiple locations across Europe and the Mediterranean and in Israel, took part in the drill, which involved a logistics-centric deployment phase, extensive simulated joint task force operations against salvos on multiple fronts and Patriot live fire against simulated targets.

 

The Israeli contribution was estimated at 30 million shekels ($76.4 million). It involved nearly 2,000 personnel and all layers of Israel’s planned multitiered active defense intercepting network, including the Arrow, Iron Dome, Patriot and Pac-2, used against air-breathing targets, and command-and-control elements of the developmental David’s Sling.

 

Franklin insisted the scenarios simulating salvo attacks on multiple fronts were notional and “not related to any particular recent world event.”

 

Nevertheless, representatives from both countries said last week’s barrage of Gaza-launched rockets, combined with fire across the Syrian border, injected real-life urgency to simulated joint operations.

 

“AC12 took place in a realistic threat environment, to say the least. Many of us will remember it as the nexus between simulation and actual combat,” an Israel Air Force officer said.

 

In the coming weeks, U.S. and Israeli officers will conduct post-drill evaluations and apply key lessons to the planning of the next major bilateral drill, scheduled for 2014.

 

Israel Air Force Brig. Gen. Doron Gavish, recently retired air defense commander, said the drill and ongoing exercises between drills were strategically significant in honing the ability of both countries to operate jointly against evolving threats.

 

“We’re not waiting for every other year to exercise together. Today we have a standing relationship with all the commanders, and we conduct a lot of small-scale training on a regular basis,” Gavish said.

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13 novembre 2012 2 13 /11 /novembre /2012 12:45

The Guardium UGV (Photo Ziv Koren)

 

3/11/2012 Amir Rapaport - israeldefense.com

 

Col. Nir Halamish, Head of the IDF Ground Forces Command's Weapons Development Division, speaks about the programs the IDF is developing for cutting-edge robotics and new developments on the verge of significant technological breakthroughs

 

"I believe that 2013 will be the year in which a decade’s worth of processes will come to a conclusion,” declares Col. Nir Halamish in a special interview for IsraelDefense. As Head of the Weapons Department for the IDF’s Ground Forces, Halamish describes the direction in which the branch’s force buildup will focus, and notes the areas where major breakthroughs are expected to occur – including more efficient energy utilization by infantry and special forces and operating in distant locations across the battlefield.

 

Col. Halamish grew up in the Armored Corps, and has manned several positions in the Weapons Department for more than a decade. The interview with him took place near the time when the IDF General Staff approved a new multi-year plan (“Oz” – to be initiated in 2013-2017). The plan, which defines the strengthening directions of all the branches (including the Ground Forces), will be replacing the Tefen Multi-Year Plan which began in 2007 after the Second Lebanon War and was completed by the end of 2011.

 

The year 2012 was defined by the IDF as a “singular year”, The new plan was postponed by a year due to the dramatic changes in the Middle East, and after arguments between the Defense and Treasury Ministries concerning the parameters of the defense budget.

 

“The Tefen Multi-Year Plan is unique in two regards,” says Col. Halamish. “Firstly, it is one of the few plans in the history of the IDF that used all of its five years, and it was a very good and healthy process for the military. Secondly, it came immediately after the Second Lebanon War, and its planning stemmed from the lessons of that war. It essentially implemented all of the things that were understood from the war and was intended to allow for significant increases in crucial capabilities, as we understood were necessary in 2007.

 

“The plan itself brought some very significant capabilities, such as connectivity between all of the force elements on the ground, via the Digital Army Program (DAP), which has already become operational in half of the layout. In the coming years, we will expand it to the entire military, including reserves, and we will advance the ground connectivity to entities such as the Directorate of Military Intelligence, the IAF, and branches in the General Staff.”

 

Maneuver and Regional Defense

 

“One of the most significant lessons learned from the Second Lebanon War was the decision to renew the campaign’s maneuvering capabilities – in other words, carrying out a ‘quick and lethal maneuver’ as defined by the Commander of the Ground Forces, Maj. Gen. Sami Turgeman. The IDF decided to acquire hundreds of Merkava Mark IV tanks and Merkava Namer APCs produced on U.S. soil for the sake of improving maneuvering capabilities, as well as acquiring active defense systems against antitank missiles.”

 

Will the IDF continue to invest in tanks, APCs and active defense systems during the years of the Oz plan? The IDF General Staff recently discussed its intent to reduce the number of tanks and APCs.

 

“There were many discussions, but there’s already the Merkava Mark IV, which we are continuing to develop and to manufacture, as well as the Namer APC. The Namer started out as a heavy APC in 2007, with the global direction being that of less protected vehicles, as dictated by the US – speed at the expense of survivability. We decided towards a heavy maneuvering vehicle which prioritizes the team’s survivability at the expense of less weight. It has good maneuverability, yet it will not reach high speeds such as a light AFV. We presently have an entire operational Golani brigade with Merkava APCs, and we have transferred production to General Dynamics in the US to fund the rest of the acquisition with aid funds. We are advancing at full speed. The fact is, there are debates in the multi-year plan whether or not to continue producing Namers and how it has no effect on the things transpiring in the coming two to three years. Eventually there’s General Dynamics, which has a contract for the production of a considerable amount of Namers, and it is about to transfer several models of the new APC for testing.

 

“Upon the arrival of the APCs from the US, we will also renew the production line of the Namers in Israel (Israeli systems will be assembled onboard the hulls arriving from the US). There are thoughts about a second regular Namer brigade afterwards. We are examining the matter. On the one hand, it is important that the regular ORBAT be with the most advanced systems. On the other hand, these platforms have significant maintenance costs, and now there is the need to find the balance between the desire to be strong at the sharp tip and between the capability of carrying out this endeavor. This has not yet been decided – there are important considerations on how to expand the capabilities of the Namer, and also of the Merkava Mark IV, for a regular brigade. The issue will reach the branch commander within a few months, and it will then be brought up for General Staff approval.”

 

What about the active defense systems? Thus far, Trophy systems (by Rafael) were installed onboard only some Merkava Mark IV tanks. Will you continue installing Trophy on tanks, and will you equip the new Namers with this system?

 

“In general, we think we have reached a situation where this vehicle provides an excellent response to the existing challenges – both traditional challenges such as tanks that are operating in the environment, as well as the developing ones of antitank squadrons, of a small and low-signature enemy who is very difficult to locate.

“Today, the Merkava IV tank has a comprehensive capability for defending against antitank threats, as well as dealing with the enemy and closing the fire cycle at an impressive speed of a few seconds, on the same vehicle. I believe that in the next confrontation that takes place, we will have to test these capabilities in war, or in a more significant conflict than the one taking place today in Gaza. The more we succeed in operating these systems in a better manner, we will reach a situation where an antitank squad firing an RPG-29 or other antitank weapons will find itself in clear, immediate danger in a matter of seconds. We’ve done a very thorough effort with the tanks – the result of considerable development, but testing these capabilities was carried out after the Second Lebanon War.”

 

You mean that there are also soft-kill systems?

 

“What I can say is that other technologies are being examined beyond Trophy. Additional systems are being developed, and I think that in the operational field of dealing with the antitank threat, we have set a goal for ourselves under a program called ‘Green Page’, to improve the capabilities of the combat battalion team. We are not discussing more about the single instrument level or how any tank or Namer deals with the antitank threat. Rather it is about the integrated battalion – with infantry, tanks, engineering and collection – and how its fire handles a threat that we understand from the Second Lebanon War, which the enemy views as an endeavor he should invest in from his perspective. On our side, we invest in order to prepare the forces – force buildup for improved confrontation. I am discussing the field of weapons and strengthening, but there are, of course, other directions, such as training and doctrines. “

 

Does this mean that it is possible for one instrument to defend another?

 

“It means that I’ve said all that I can say. One of the significant things that we’ve tasked ourselves with is the issue of dealing with the capability of a force’s critical mass to handle the antitank threat. No more “boutique capabilities” of lone forces, but rather significant capabilities for a significant ORBAT, so that we will have the ability to deal with a significant challenge in times of war or large conflict, and defeat it. Regarding the tank itself, besides having the Trophy System, which greatly increases survivability, we also provided it with an antitank shell named Kalanit, which is unique and the first of its kind in the world, produced by Israel Military Industries (IMI).

 

Tactical UAV

 

Col. Halamish explains, “Six to seven years ago, we made a strategic decision – in IDF terms – to develop autonomous tactical unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) layouts to work alongside the maneuvering force, battalion or brigade. All the decisions regarding them are accepted at the regiment or brigade commander level. Their availability is very high, their conditions are very low – take off and land in the field. Most importantly, they maintain performance, in day and night in a manner that approaches the IDF’s largest micro-remotely powered vehicles (MRPVs).

 

“The first is called Skylark 1 (according to the commercial name of the manufacturer, Elbit Systems). This is a layout which we are more or less in the middle of implementing, and there are already several dozens of teams using it. The system works in an intensive manner, deepening across all the current security sectors – Gaza, Egypt, the Lebanon border, Judea and Samaria, as well as in all the unit trainings. Every regiment commander who received the system and the team said that the first thing they want is to keep it.”

 

According to Halamish, the Ground Forces branch recently decided on a new UAV project for the brigade echelon, termed Sky Galloper. This UAV will be 1.5 times larger than the Skylark and will also be manufactured by Elbit Systems.

 

Precision Mortars

 

According to Col. Halamish, another significant and developing field within the ground forces in the coming five years involves mortars. After the IDF acquired the Soltam-produced “Keshet” (a rapid mortar fired from an APC), a decision was made to begin a new project for developing mortar shells with a precision of up to a few meters. The shells will be directed towards the target via a laser marker or other guidance measures. The IDF is presently considering a revolutionary step: providing precision shell fire capabilities to armored battalions as well, to offer them another means of quickly and efficiently dealing with antitank squads ambushing them in the maneuver areas. “This is something that is being examined,” says Halamish.

 

“My assessment is that we will introduce the mortars to the armored battalions at one stage, out of an understanding that the Keshet is truly a force multiplier, and we wish to add everything we define as a precision shell upon it. The Keshet does things automatically, reducing human error to a minimum. All that is left for us today is to take the mortar shell and make it precise.

 

“Today, the mortar is still 'dumb', statistically one that falls within a range of 100 meters. We want to take this range and make it more precise, at least to ten meters. The precision will turn this instrument into an ultimate asset – quick, precise, with a minimal amount of errors. This is the central step that we are working on.”

 

Precision Rockets

 

Beyond mortars, the Ground Forces also intend to establish battalions that world fire precise rockets to ranges of nearly 40 kilometers (as revealed by the head of the Ground Forces during the International Fire Conference organized by IsraelDefense and the Artillery Corps Association in May 2012). The precise rockets will be based on the Accular developed by IMI, which took old rockets and added guidance and navigation systems to them.

 

Have you already started to establish the first precision rocket battalion?

 

“Yes, we are working on it now. The layout has not yet been constructed, but is undergoing advanced approvals. The Ground Forces commander is outlining the direction for us. Today, the air force is needed in order to precisely hit a structure or another target. We want to reach a situation where the rocket or mortar will reach all targets in every scenario, during the day or at night, and in all weather conditions. This is a significant challenge in that we see ourselves fighting 24/7, in the winter and summer.”

 

Halamish adds that in addition to the rocket battalion, the IDF will start the conversion of its mobile gun layout to a new gun in the coming five-year period – an effort that will take nearly three decades, meaning four multi-year plans.

 

Easier, More Concealed

 

Regarding infantry forces, Halamish says, “If you take an infantry battalion from 2006 and compare it to today, you’ll see that we have made at least one, sometimes two jumps in every parameter – command and control, collection, lethality, ability to hit soft/hard targets, camouflage and personal gear. Since this is a very large layout, this was one of the most significant efforts in the Tefen Plan, and it provided improved, upgraded capabilities to every infantry battalion, in terms of both quality and quantity, compared to five years ago.

 

What is happening with the project that was referred to in the past decade as the “Future Infantry Soldier”?

 

“In the framework of the project, some of the things that made its way to the ground force battalions are the result of initiatives that were in the previous incarnation of the future infantry project (in 2003-2004). The mechanism says that you try numerous ideas – several of them will mature, while several of them slowly die. The best of them progress to the full development and acquisition stage, from which the gathering systems came. We were using systems such as Yuval – an expensive and heavy system weighing 11-12 kilograms.

 

“One of the things that came about during 2003 to 2005 was the capability to take the thermal world and pack it in two and a half kilograms while maintaining the same ranges. This was something that we thought about before then, but we did not see how we could turn it into a project. Now it’s a standard.

 

"In general, we took everything that the infantry soldiers were carrying, which was in the area of 40-50 kilograms, and reduced it to less than ten kilograms. Let’s say that an artillery cooperation officer had to carry observation systems and batteries for 48 hours. This is a weight that he could not carry on his own, alongside two soldiers who were carrying it as well. This was the operation – three persons walking with heavy gear. We took all of the artillery cooperation officer’s gear, and specified the equipment used to produce even better operational outputs (i.e. allows for seeing during day and night, and produces coordinates) – all of this in only ten kilograms. Today, an infantry artillery cooperation officer does not need a hauler.”

 

What breakthroughs are there in the energy field?

 

"I believe that the next head of the Weapons Development Division, in about five years, will have several issues that he will turn into projects, and one of them will be the energy issue. Looking ahead, you see there is more equipment that requires energy, including for command and control and gathering measures. We are approaching a situation where the different types and amount of energy requires many soldiers. We are presently examining several significant directions with MAFAT for more energy at less weight. The aspiration is to reach a ratio of 1:2 with portable infantry forces systems, meaning twice the energy for the same weight. There are several directions, starting with solar panels and up to composite materials whose energy is twice as high.

 

“MAFAT operates projects in several universities, as well as with the US. We are investing many resources in this field in order to reach a situation where a battery’s activation time will be 16 hours instead of eight. The goal is 1:3 with combat collection units, which collect materials and don’t have to be in motion all the time, and there are other directions, such as a small generator that could operate for days, while allowing for operating systems. We are working in this field with Ricor from Ein Harod. Sizable budgets need to be invested in this.”

 

So we are discussing energy generators in the field?

 

"For example, a liter of a certain type of benzene can allow for the production of 72 hours of energy. There is, of course, a trade-off – the generator weighs ten kilograms, not including the extra liter, but it's worth it if it provides you with energy for a week.”

 

What about liquid energy?

 

“There is the whole world of fuel cells. We are also examining this in UAVs, which are electric and have an endurance of two to three hours. We want this to stand at six hours – the longer the UAV can stay in the air, the better. This is a field that has great potential. Breakthroughs will happen in some of the things and not in others.

 

What other things are on the verge of breakthroughs?

 

“The cellular field. Our cellphones consume energy so much that they can’t finish a day's work without being recharged several times. Considerable amounts of money are being invested in this – whoever comes up with a solution will be a millionaire. We are riding on the backs of the civilian sector, and it is from there that things will be reached.

 

“Another issue is “friend-or-foe” identification, a subject that that comes up in every war or operation. The IDF enters built-up areas where everything is crowded and improvised, with tanks and infantry inside – everyone is mixed up with everything. We are now investing towards finding a solution to prevent friendly-fire. The attacker is less interested, so far as knowing if I am in a tank and signaling to an infantry force, whether it is one of our own, without requiring the infantry soldier’s cooperation. A breakthrough will happen here and while it will not provide 100% of what we need, it could improve decision-making. I am not assuming that a decision may or may not happen according to this, but it may allow for decisions to be made. You want to reach a situation where batteries are not needed for such a form of identification.

 

“Last year, we called on several companies to work on this. I believe that we will ultimately reach our goal. Today, you have systems that require cooperation with the force, such as a thermal flag. However, many times, someone could shoot you from behind because he can’t see the flag.

 

“There are all sorts of areas being developed regarding the future infantry soldier, such as better uniforms. Some of the officers examine potential uniforms that might aid the infantry fighter during combat.

 

“Another issue is to take what the infantry soldier carries, including uniform, measures, and protection – and turn it into a single system. For example, having energy be part of the protection layer. Energy is central, and it will provide you with the command and control. I presume that the combat configuration of the infantry – such as traversing on foot and reaching certain destinations – will be preserved, even in one or two decades from now. It will need assistance and organization for it to carry out such missions in a good manner.

 

“One of the other things is to transfer the world of autonomous vehicles from the air to the ground – this is the world we call UGVs (Unmanned Ground Vehicles). There are two main directions in this field, one of which is to take this capability and integrate it in ongoing security settings, as is done in Gaza. The only missionoperational UGV system in the world that is the one we operate in Gaza – the G-NIUS Guardium UGV. It still carries out missions today. There were initially problems with it, primarily in communications and the capability of operating near the fence. It has been carrying out activities nicely in the past year.

 

"One example is that there are complex situations near the fences, where instead of operating manned forces and becoming entangled in a dangerous situation, the forces can be allowed to close a wider circle and introduce the UGV, which transmits the image back. If there's a charge, it will explode, and if there is an incursion, then it transmits the information and allows us to get organized accordingly.

 

There is also a plan known as “Forward Guard” - what does it refer to?

 

“Forward guard refers to an unmanned force that will operate ahead of the main force, one which will track the enemy and another to encounter it in place of the main force.

 

Thus far, we have yet to solve the communication problem. I want to give this instrument commands, not just data, and this is where there is still a problem. Furthermore, you want to reach a situation where this instrument can make decisions independently in the field – what is called artificial intelligence (AI). This might be pretentious, but this is the appropriate word. If it reaches a place where there is an obstacle, and it needs to be overcome, then the robot will know how to figure it out, just like any sixyear old child. For the time being, this is something that they cannot do. If we solve this, we could provide unmanned forward guard capabilities with a manned force. This is something that we are advancing along with MAFAT.

 

Is there a goal to see to it that the robots could talk amongst themselves?

 

“Yes, but our current ambition is primarily that they will be able to operated on their own. The dream of taking a robotic force and having it fight behind enemy lines instead of soldiers exists in the movies, but we are not yet close to that. In any case, I say that we are the most advanced military in this field, and quite a few militaries come here to see what we are developing. Afghanistan, for example, presented very significant challenges to the various allied forces, similar to what he had in the security strip, such as the logistic convoys and movement to outposts. They eventually reached the same solutions that we did, such as supplies from the air and more, and then they also examined the UGV trucks.

 

I am a big believer in the notion that technological breakthroughs are accomplished step by step: isolate a problem, focus on what is desired, and thus reach a solution. It is very difficult to take a large step. Many times you do not have 10-15 years for a project to yield results. It is always easy is to say that the operational need is extensive and does not allow for compromise, and that the system is not needed without all of it. One of my challenges is to quantify the operational need so that it may be accomplished within a range of three to five years, and not to develop systems over many lengthy years that will not be needed by the time it is completed.”

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10 novembre 2012 6 10 /11 /novembre /2012 13:00
L'armée française commence à tester le drone Watchkeeper

09 novembre 2012 Par Elodie Vallerey - Usinenouvelle.com

 

La direction générale de l'armement (DGA) française procède aux premières phases d'expérimentation du drone tactique déjà utilisé par l'armée britannique.

 

L'accord-cadre entre la France et la Grande-Bretagne entre enfin en application. Signé en juillet dernier par le ministre de la Défense français Jean-Yves Le Drian et son homologue britannique Philip Hammond, il prévoit une campagne d’expérimentation du drone tactique Watchkeeper, qui a débuté le 22 octobre dernier comme vient de l'annoncer la DGA.

 

Le drone, conçu conjointement par Thales UK et l'israélien Elbit Systems, sera évalué par la France jusqu'à mi-2013 avant d'être acheté ou non par la DGA pour les troupes au sol afin d'observer les zones de conflit. Huit millions d'euros ont été alloués à cette campagne d'expérimentation.

 

"L’évaluation du système britannique Watchkeeper par l’armée de terre française va permettre à nos forces de définir les conditions d’une coopération opérationnelle étroite", a expliqué la DGA lors d'un point presse le 8 novembre.

 

Comme le rappelle le site spécialisé Opex360.com, pour l’armée de Terre, le WK 450 pourrait remplacer le système de drone tactique intermédiaire (SDTI) “Sperwer” de Sagem, qui ne peut voler que 6 heures avec une charge utile de seulement 50 kg.

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30 octobre 2012 2 30 /10 /octobre /2012 11:35
U.S. 'mulls buying Israeli robot gunboats'

photo RP Defense - Euronaval 2012

 

TEL AVIV, Israel, Oct. 29 (UPI)

 

The U.S. military is reported to be testing a missile-armed, remote-controlled robotic boats developed by Israel's Rafael Advanced Defenses Systems, possibly to bolster its naval capabilities in the Persian Gulf where it's locked in a mainly maritime confrontation with Iran.

 

The mass-circulation Yedioth Ahronoth reports that the Americans see a possible use for the 30-foot unmanned Protector boats, which can carry one bow-mounted 7.62mm machine gun or anti-ship missiles, against Iranian suicide boats manned by Revolutionary Guards.

 

The small Iranian vessels are intended to "either block or attack any American aircraft carrier making its way through the Strait of Hormuz," the newspaper said.

 

Iran has threatened to close that narrow waterway, the only way in and out of the Persian Gulf, if it is attacked. One-third of the world's oil supplies pass through the 112-mile channel every day.

 

The Israeli navy is reported to be operating Protectors armed with multipurpose anti-armor Spike missiles, which are also built by Haifa's Rafael. Britain's BAE Systems and Lockheed Martin helped develop the unmanned boats.

 

Yedioth reports that last Wednesday the U.S. Navy test-fired six missiles from several unmanned surface vessels off the coast of Maryland. The daily gave no other details but observed that "all ... were reportedly accurate."

 

Wired magazine, which monitors new weapons systems, quoted Mark Moses, the U.S. Navy's drone boats program manager, as saying, "The tests are a significant step forward in weaponizing surface unmanned combat capability."

 

The Protectors "could be used for a number of applications, including harbor security, and in various defensive operations and scenarios, which are of primary concern for the Navy," Moses added.

 

Yedioth reported that any U.S. contract to buy Protector is "expected to amount to millions of dollars." But it noted that the Americans may arm any boats it buys with U.S.-built missiles, such as the Javelin or the Hellfire, rather than Israeli-made weapons.

 

These are both combat-proven systems modified for naval deployment. The FGM-148 fire-and-forget Javelin anti-tank weapon is built by Raytheon and Lockheed Martin. The AGM-114 Hellfire is produced by Lockheed Martin.

 

The Protector is already in service with the Israeli and Singaporean navies. It can reach speeds of 42 miles per hour. Its machine gun is capable of staying on target even in rough seas.

 

The boat carries radar and sonar systems and at least four cameras to identify targets, with electro-optical systems to provide 3-D imaging.

 

Noam Brock, who headed the Rafael team that developed the Protector, said the boat can operate at night and cope with heavy seas.

 

"Its systems are so advanced they can track the flight of a single bird," he said in 2006.

 

"The next step ... will be to equip the system with greater attack capabilities." That seems to have been achieved.

 

Rafael officials also see Protector having an anti-piracy mission, possibly against the Somalia pirate gangs marauding across the Indian Ocean, or the growing threat in the Atlantic off West Africa, a major oil-producing zone.

 

Other USVs are also on the market. One is the 21-foot Interceptor manufactured by Marine Robotic Vessels International of Florida. It can make speeds of 55 mph and has reportedly emphasized reconnaissance over firepower.

 

In late 2007, British defense firm Qineteq unveiled the jet-ski-sized Sentry, which was designed for intruder investigation.

 

It's likely that the Israeli navy will use Protector as part of the force it's building to guard its natural gas fields in the eastern Mediterranean. In the decades ahead, the offshore production platforms, due to start coming onstream in 2014, and other infrastructure will be a strategic target for Israel's adversaries.

 

Iran and its proxy, Hezbollah in Lebanon, are seen as particular threats, as is Syria and to a lesser extent Palestinian militants.

 

Hezbollah reportedly has hundreds of long-range missiles capable of hitting the offshore facilities south of Lebanon.

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30 octobre 2012 2 30 /10 /octobre /2012 11:20
Secret Report Criticizes NATO’s Command in Libya

Oct. 28, 2012 - By GERARD O’DWYER Defense News

 

HELSINKI — The accidental release of a Danish Defense Forces’ (DDF) report critical of NATO’s command structures and inability to direct bombing missions in Libya in 2011 has provoked political controversy, after it emerged the Danish Air Force bought munitions from Israel.

 

The Defence Forces has confirmed it will revamp its information-handling systems after a highly classified and confidential “Libya Mission” report was released Oct. 10 as a PDF file, in error, to the Danish media organization Politiken. Politiken had earlier filed a request under the country’s Freedom of Information Act for details about Danish operations as part of the NATO-led Operation Unified Protector.

 

“The report is both embarrassing and revealing on several fronts,” said Holger Nielsen, defense spokesman for the Socialist People’s Party, one of three parties in Denmark’s ruling center-left administration. “The depth of the Danish military’s criticism of how NATO handled operations in Libya was not known to this extent, and that the Air Force bought munitions from Israel to bomb an Arab-world country was certainly not generally known by the government of the day.”

 

The Libya Mission report, produced by the Air Force’s Tactical Command (FTK) unit, criticizes NATO for being unable to provide reliable intelligence on targets or to conduct bombing raids. The lack of adequate intelligence and mission coordination by NATO forced the Air Force and other participants to curtail operations against key targets, according to the report. It also states that NATO was unable to provide accurate assessments of collateral damage inflicted on the civilian population, forcing the Air Force to curb the number and scale of its missions.

 

“NATO’s command structure was not organized to lead an operation such as Operation Unified Protector when operations in Libya started,” the FTK report claims.

 

The report notes that the Air Force’s squadron of F-16 fighters had operated under U.S. command in the lead-in phase of the Libya campaign, but came under NATO’s command in April 2011. The change greatly reduced the quality and effectiveness of mission planning and execution.

 

“Unlike the U.S., NATO did not have adequate access to tactical intelligence to support the operation,” the report states.

 

Libya will be a learning experience for NATO on how to better manage missions requiring a high level of intelligence gathering and multiforce coordination, Danish defense analyst Sten Rynning said.

 

“The main lesson to be learned by NATO is its need to employ its own intelligence-gathering systems to ensure the success of missions like Libya, which was largely run without the United States,” Rynning said. “Until it does, NATO’s mission command capability will be limited.”

 

The shortcomings identified in the Danish report will be addressed as part of NATO’s Smart Defense project and redesigned command structure, NATO spokesman Jonas Torp said.

 

“Issues we plan to deal with include the stockpiling of sufficient precision munitions by partner nations,” he said. “We will strengthen the capacity of the Sigonella military base in Italy to beef up reconnaissance and surveillance. To this end, we are investing in a fleet of five unarmed drones under the Alliance Ground Surveillance, or AGS project. The new measures will also include an enhanced focus on airborne warning and control systems and the European air refueling project.”

 

The NATO-European Union cooperation project includes sharing existing aircraft assets, or acquisition of new planes to boost aerial refueling capability by 2020.

 

NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Oct. 24 that the alliance welcomed the report’s critical insights.

 

“Within the ongoing reform of our command structure, we have already taken steps to strengthen our air operations command,” he said.

 

Rasmussen conceded that without U.S. intelligence-gathering systems, NATO would not have been able to complete its mission in Libya. But he described the final outcome of Unified Protector as a “great success.”

 

Bombs From Israel

 

Denmark’s defense chief, Gen. Peter Bertram, defended the decision to buy precision bombs from Israel. The Air Force’s own stockpile of weapons had been quickly depleted after weeks of air strikes, he said.

 

The Air Force attempted to buy munitions from NATO allies, but no NATO country was in a position to supply. Deliveries were then negotiated with Israel.

 

“It is not the task of the military to carry out foreign policy,” he said. “What we do with other countries is approved at the political level. A fighter is not just a fighter. There are different configurations. And not all countries have precisely the type of ammunition relevant to Danish aircraft.”

 

Former Defense Minister Gitte Lillelund Bech denied any knowledge of the purchase.

 

“I was very aware that the Danish F-16 squadron lacked munitions, and I gave the green light to acquire munitions from the Netherlands and Poland, but I never heard anything about Israel in that connection. Nothing at all,” Bech said.

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15 octobre 2012 1 15 /10 /octobre /2012 07:50

Eitan (Heron TP) drone source flightglobal.com

 

Oct 12, 2012 Spacedaily.com (UPI)

 

Tel Aviv, Israel - Israel Aerospace Industries, flagship of the Jewish state's defense sector, is reported to have secured a $958 million contract from India's military to upgrade its IAI-built Heron and Searcher unmanned aerial vehicles.

 

UAVs are one of the biggest money-spinners for Israel's defense industry and India, which is engaged in a massive multiyear rearmament program, is a key customer.

 

Israel's Globes business daily cited Indian media reports that the deal covers some 150 UAVs acquired from IAI since the 1990s that are operated by India's army, air force and navy.

 

The Indian army deploys around 100 Searchers along the country's western, eastern and northern borders. The air force employs Searcher IIs and Herons for reconnaissance and surveillance missions.

 

"Once the upgrades are complete, the air force will be able to use the aircraft for long-range missions and control them through satellite communications systems," Globes reported.

 

Israel is one of the world's leading arms exporters, with most of its key customers in the developing world.

 

The U.S. Congressional Research Service at the Library of Congress reported in August that from 2004-11, Israel signed arms transfer agreements worth $12.9 billion. That ranked it as the eighth largest arms supplier in the world, behind the United States, Russia, France, Britain, Germany, China and Italy.

 

IAI has had major dealings with India in recent years.

 

In early 2006, IAI and the Indian Defense Research Development Organization signed a $480 million contract on missile development. Israeli business sources said the deal was a major boost to IAI's orders backlog at a time when Israel's defense industry, a key revenue earner, had to grapple with a big dip in the global market.

 

IAI won a $1.1 billion deal with the Indian navy in 2009 to provide advanced Barak-8 tactical air-defense missile systems for its warships. The Indian army is jointly funding a project to adapt the Barak-8 into a multipurpose weapons system.

 

Also in 2009, Israel's Rafael Advanced Defense Systems secured a $1 billion contract with New Delhi for 18 Spyder surface-to-air missile systems by 2012.

 

IAI sold the Indian air force three Phalcon early warning aircraft worth $1.1 billion in 2004.

 

All told, Israeli companies have sold India weapons and other military systems worth more than $10 billion over the last decade or so. In 2007, the Jewish state replaced France as India's second largest arms supplier after Russia.

 

India has also expressed interest in Israel's Arrow-2 anti-ballistic missile system jointly manufactured by IAI and the Boeing Co. of the United States.

 

But the technology transfer involved could impede any sale since U.S. approval would be required.

 

With a significant slowdown in the growth of high-tech exports to the United States and Europe, Israeli defense exporters are shifting their marketing focus to Asia.

 

In 2010, Israeli defense sales reached $9.6 billion, with the three largest defense-oriented companies along employing 30,600 people.

 

In March, India blacklisted Israel Military Industries, a major arms manufacturer, for 10 years because of a 2009 bribery scandal that has dogged links between the Jewish state's defense industry and one of its biggest customers.

 

State-owned IMI is the main supplier of defense platforms for the Israeli military and is a significant exporter in the defense field. This sector that has become increasingly crucial to maintaining production lines and developing new systems at a time when the government is slashing Israel's defense budget.

 

The decision by the Indian government "is expected to significantly impact IMI's activities in India, as well as that of other Israeli defense firms," the liberal Haaretz daily reported following the announcement of the blacklisting.

 

"However," Oxford Analytica observed in a December analysis, "these industries are now facing a problem similar to the one they faced in the late 1970s and early 1980s, when they reacted quickly to the lessons learned during the 1973 war and the spate of airline hijackings.

 

"Systems invented at that time included UAVs and sophisticated airport security networks but for a while it was hard to sell these products.

 

"Both systems have since been adopted by the security forces of many countries and form the core of Israeli defense exports."

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26 septembre 2012 3 26 /09 /septembre /2012 17:25

système de défense anti-missiles Arrow 3

 

Tel Aviv, Israel (UPI) Sep 25, 2012 Spacewar.com

 

The crucial first test-firing of Israel's Arrow-3 interceptor missile, designed to destroy ballistic weapons, reportedly has been postponed despite efforts to boost the Jewish state's missile defenses amid threats of pre-emptive strikes against Iran.

 

The development of the Arrow-3 program, which is being carried out by state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries and Boeing of the United States, is a year behind schedule.

 

The first full-scale test, firing the two-stage missile against a simulated target, had been planned for this month but the U.S. weekly Space News reported the flight has been postponed until the end of the year.

 

IAI declined to say what the problem is but Israel's Globes business daily reported that it appears to be serious because the test missile has been returned to IAI for unspecified repairs from the launch site at Palmachim Air Base on the Mediterranean coast south of Tel Aviv.

 

Israel's national news agency reported in August that the new Block 4 generation of interceptors, radars and technologies for synchronizing Arrow-3 with U.S. systems is being installed in Israeli batteries, a process that could take some time.

 

Arrow-3, largely funded by the United States since the program was launched in 1988, is designed to intercept long-range ballistic missiles, which for the Israelis these days means Iranian or Syrian weapons.

 

It will be the top level of a four-tier missile defense shield, Israel's most advanced anti-missile system, able to intercept hostile missiles in space outside Earth's atmosphere. It will be able to engage at altitudes double that of the Arrow-2, the current mainstay for covering against ballistic missiles, using detachable warheads that become killer satellites that seek out targets and crash into them.

 

This highly maneuverable system uses a lighter missile than Arrow-2, not only extending Arrow-3's operational altitude but the missile's range as well.

 

The Israeli military's website says the mobile Arrow interceptors include a number of sensors able to identify and intercept incoming missiles with extreme accuracy. These are hooked into long-range, ground-based Super Green Pine radar systems which can identify and track missiles and a new missile control center linking the Arrow batteries, collectively known as the "Defensive Sword" unit.

 

The semi-mobile radar unit is an advanced version of the EL/M-2080 Green Pine system used in Arrow-1 and 2. It's built by Elta, a subsidiary of IAI's Electronics Group. The various components are controlled by the mobile Citron Tree battle management center, built by Israel's Tadiran Electronics.

 

Since all these components are mobile to one degree or another, the system as a whole is more likely to survive pre-emptive strikes than fixed systems.

 

Arrow-3 is due to become operational in 2014 but it's not clear whether the current problems will delay that.

 

Arrow-1 was deployed in 2001 and replaced by Arrow-2. That system remains operational and will be maintain as a backup for Arrow 3, doubling Israel's chances of nailing hostile ballistic missiles.

 

The new variant is considered to be a far more advanced weapon than the U.S. MIM-104 Patriot, a long-range air-defense system built by Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems.

 

Israel's air defense shield has been integrated with U.S. systems during recent joint exercises to combat missile attacks.

 

Overall responsibility for Arrow lies with the U.S. Missile Defense Organization in Washington and the Israeli Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv.

 

IAI's MLM Division is the prime contractor. Apart from Boeing, which manufactures some 35 percent of the missile, key U.S. subcontractors include Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, which makes the radar seeker, and Raytheon, which produces the infrared seeker.

 

Boeing is expected to produce at least half of the Arrow-3 interceptors in the United States, with Israel handling the integration.

 

It sees prospects for export deals, something both Boeing and IAI are keen to promote as foreign sales of weapons systems have become of paramount importance to defense contractors amid widespread defense cutbacks.

 

India would like to buy an Arrow battery and purchased a Green Pine radar system in 2001. South Korea's also reported to be interested.

 

However, so far the Americans have blocked export initiatives, citing concerns regarding the Missile Technology Control Regime that limits the proliferation of ballistic missile technology.

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18 août 2012 6 18 /08 /août /2012 17:50

iron dome photo IDF

 

 

Aug. 16, 2012 - By STEPHEN WEIZMAN, (AFP) Defense news

 

JERUSALEM — Israel on Aug. 16 finished nationwide testing of an SMS warning system against missile attack, sending texts to mobile phones in Jerusalem and other parts of the country, a military spokeswoman said.

 

The five-day exercise, which began on Aug. 12, took place to the backdrop of mounting speculation over a possible Israeli strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities and a resulting Iranian counter-attack.

 

The army said that along with Jerusalem, the test on Aug. 16 included the Negev desert town of Arad, the northern cities of Afula and Hadera, and Upper Nazareth, a Jewish satellite of the Israeli Arab city.

 

A spokeswoman said that Nazareth itself, the largest Arab city in Israel, was not included in the test, with military sources explaining that when the system became fully operational it would cover all communities.

 

The army says the warning messages were being sent in Hebrew, Arabic, English and Russian.

 

They are meant to warn of an imminent missile attack by Iran or Lebanon’s Hezbollah militia, which could become a reality if Israel decides to mount a military strike on nuclear facilities in Iran.

 

Israel believes the Islamic republic is trying to develop a military nuclear capability under the guise of its civilian program which it says would pose an existential threat to the Jewish state.

 

Opponents of an Israeli attack said on Aug. 16 that around 500 academics and retired military personnel had signed a petition calling on air force pilots to refuse to carry out a unilateral strike.

 

“I understand the far-reaching implications of this petition,” a statement quoted one of the signatories, Tel Aviv University law professor Menachem Mautner, as saying.

 

“The possibility of a decision to attack Iran has been keeping me awake for weeks.”

 

The statement warns that injury to Iranian civilians as a result of radioactive leakage from any of the targeted facilities could expose pilots to future war crimes charges.

 

“We issue this appeal to you out of a deep sense of concern and anxiety,” the petition tells the Israeli airmen. “Our fate, our very future lies very much in your hands.”

 

On Aug. 16, President Shimon Peres said Israel could not attack Iran without U.S. help, in a television interview for his 89th birthday.

 

“It is clear that we can not do it alone,” he said. “We can repel (an attack) but it’s clear to us that we must act in concert with America, even if there are some issues of coordination and delays.”

 

And later in the evening around 100 protesters marched in Tel Aviv denouncing any strike on Iran, an AFP photographer said.

 

“Enough of occupation (of Palestinian territories). No to an attack on Iran,” chanted the protesters, including members of the opposition Meretz and Hadash parties.

 

Many protesters held up pictures of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Ehud Barak with the caption “arsonists”.

 

A poll, meanwhile, indicated that 61 percent of Jewish Israelis opposed a raid on Iran without U.S. support.

 

The survey, published by the independent Israel Democracy Institute (IDI) think-tank, also said 57 percent of respondents believed talk of a pre-emptive strike is simply a tactic designed to pressure the Americans to take more resolute action against Iran.

 

“Most Jewish Israelis (56 percent) remain unconvinced that Israel will attack Iran without U.S. cooperation in the near future,” it added.

 

The IDI said the survey of 516 respondents was conducted by the Dahaf polling institute on Aug. 7-8 and has a margin of error of 4.5 percentage points.

 

In recent weeks, the Israeli press has been flooded with reports citing anonymous top officials suggesting military action against Tehran’s nuclear facilities is imminent.

 

But U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on Aug. 14 said Israel had not yet reached a decision on whether to mount an attack.

 

U.S. President Barack Obama has said Washington will stop Iran from “acquiring nuclear weapons” — a step further down the line from Israel’s red line, which says Tehran must not be allowed to acquire atomic weapons capability.

 

There is concern in Washington that a unilateral Israeli strike may not destroy Iran’s underground nuclear facilities, could spark Iranian retaliation worldwide and may drag the United States into another war in the Middle East.

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11 août 2012 6 11 /08 /août /2012 12:05

Industries-Militaires-Israeliennes.jpg

 

NEW DELHI, Aug. 10 (UPI)

 

India's government in March banned several foreign defense contractors from bidding on contracts.

 

The restrictions are to last a decade

 

India is a key export market for Israeli defense firms, including Israel Military Industries, Israel Aerospace Industries, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Elbit Systems.

 

Defense imports are critical for India's defense establishment, which, lacking a domestic military industrial base, remains dependent on foreign imports for roughly 70 percent of its military purchases.

 

The ban, which includes IMI, has attracted critics, as shortsighted.

 

"We can expect the indigenous manufacture of ammunition to be slow, and we will have to import more artillery ammunition in the future as a result of the ban," retired Brigadier Gen. Rahul Bhonsle with New Delhi's Sasia Security-risks.com Pvt Ltd. told The Times of India.

 

"Many of the banned firms are the owners of proprietary technologies. These technologies may not be available with other contractors, so the country's defense establishment is set to lose access to such technology."

 

New Delhi's Society for the Study of Peace and Conflict Vice President Deba Ranjan Mohanty added, "This is a lose-lose situation for both the companies banned from bidding contracts and the country, which is heavily dependent on foreign countries for purchasing arms and defense technologies."

 

The situation "is not a very happy one," she said.

 

"The blacklisting act was thus necessary to make the system more transparent," Moanty said. "The defense firms will be more careful and not indulge in unfair practices as a result."

 

Israeli arms sale to India are longstanding -- in the 2001-06 period India purchased arms worth nearly $15 billion from Israel.

 

In March, India announced it had blacklisted the six weapons firms, including IMI, in connection with an alleged bribery scandal in 2009.

 

"We are surprised by the Indian Defense ministry's decision because the process of hearings over the intended sanctions against the company has not been completed," IMI spokesman Josh Hantman said when the ban was imposed.

 

Hantman added that the decision was premature and unexpected, "especially in light of the fact that IMI had good reasons to oppose this measure. The Israeli Defense ministry will consult with Israel Military Industries about how to respond to the Indian Defense Ministry decision."

 

The fiscal stakes are immense, as India intends to spend upward of $100 billion in acquiring weapon systems and platforms over the next decade.

 

Among those nations seeking to increase their market share is the United States.

 

U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter recently said, "As a country committed to enduring peace and security in the Asia-Pacific region, India deserves the best military equipment available ... India is a top priority in our export considerations.

 

"Practically, we want to be India's highest-quality and most trusted long-term supplier of technology ... We trust India and know India is not a re-exporter or exploiter of our technologies."

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13 juillet 2012 5 13 /07 /juillet /2012 18:49
Israeli navy eyes new missile systems

 

TEL AVIV, Israel, July 13 (UPI)

 

The Israeli navy is looking for new long- and short-range missiles systems to support major ground offensives, senior officers say, a strong indication amphibious operations are being planned for Lebanon, Syria or the Gaza Strip if a new war erupts.

 

Planners are currently in talks with Israel's defense industry and the Jerusalem Post reports they're looking closely at Israel Military Industries' 160mm Accular GPS-guided system that has a range of 25 miles.

 

The navy also wants longer range missile systems that will allow it to provide fire support for large ground offensives, and to hammer enemy bases or radar stations.

 

"These missiles will give us the ability to play a more influential role," a senior navy commander said.

 

The navy has not conducted a major amphibious operation since landing troops on the coast of south Lebanon during the initial phase of the June 1982 invasion of Israel's northern neighbor.

 

But it's currently undergoing a transformation from a largely coast patrol force to a full-blown deep-water navy with strategic capabilities.

 

This is largely due to the 1998-2000 purchase of three German-built Dolphin-class submarines that are reputedly capable of launching nuclear-armed missiles. Iran is considered their primary target.

 

Three more Dolphins, more advanced than the three currently in service, are being built and scheduled for delivery between 2013 and 2016.

 

The entire fleet of the 1,925-ton subs, built by Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Weft of Kiel, should be operational by 2017.

 

As Israeli naval operations expand into the Arabian Sea and the Red Sea, as well in the eastern Mediterranean where Syria has given the Russian Navy's Black Sea Fleet a base at Tartus, navy chiefs are pressing for at least two new major missile-armed surface combatants to protect Israel's vital shipping lanes.

 

These vessels would reinforce the current surface fleet of three Sa'ar-5 and eight Sa'ar-4.5 class corvettes.

 

An estimated 90 percent of all goods arriving in Israel come by sea, as do 90 percent of military hardware and security-relayed imports.

 

Plans to purchase new warships have fallen through because of funding problem, which have been exacerbated by the introduction of severe defense cutbacks for 2012-13.

 

One proposal has been to buy designs from Germany's Blohm + Voss shipbuilders and construct the vessels at the Israel Shipyards in Haifa, the navy's main base north of Tel Aviv on Israel's Mediterranean coast.

 

Israel Shipyards, a private concern, already builds the navy's Shaldag-class patrol boats. Another option is to build the new vessels in South Korea.

 

The navy also wants new patrol craft to protect the natural gas fields recently discovered offshore, and which would be tempting targets for Iran, Syria or Hezbollah.

 

According to Israel's Globes business daily, the navy is after "fast, long endurance patrol boats ... with large crews, a range of weaponry, state-of-the-art search and warning systems, and helicopter landing pads."

 

These vessels would have to patrol a wide area of sea, about the size of Israel itself, as the gas infrastructure expands.

 

Syria and Hezbollah are known to have anti-ship missiles, many provided by Iran and Russia, that are capable of hitting fixed offshore target inside Israel's exclusive economic zone in the Mediterranean.

 

Hezbollah hit an Israel corvette off Lebanon in the opening days of the 2006 war with the Jewish state using a Chinese-designed C-802 missile.

 

The vessel was severely damaged. Another of the radar-guided missiles sank a passing Moroccan freighter

 

Israel is currently conducting a major upgrading of its armed forces amid growing concerns it will be involved in a new war with Iran and Hezbollah, and possibly Syria and even Egypt as well.

 

It's anticipating seaborne infiltration from Lebanon and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula in the Mediterranean and in the Red Sea, as well as attacks on its emerging gas infrastructure.

 

"Israel is concerned ... that Hezbollah will try to blockade it by attacking civilian cargo ships," observed the Post's defense editor, Yaacov Katz.

 

"Stopping ships sailing here would have economic and security ramifications and is therefore the first and primary challenge we will need to confront," a senior naval officer said.

 

The navy's concerns were heightened earlier this year when Russia delivered supersonic Yakhont anti-ship missiles to Syria. These have a range of some 20 miles and are capable of sinking large vessels.

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20 juin 2012 3 20 /06 /juin /2012 07:55
Backpack Guided Missiles

 

 

June 19, 2012: Strategy Page

 

Israel is now exporting its 75mm Mini-Spike lightweight guided missiles. Three years ago an Israeli firm introduced this lighter, smaller guided missile system for Israeli forces. This is the smallest member of the Spike guided missile family, which all share many common components and technologies.

 

The Mini-Spike was designed for company and platoon size units in need of a lightweight precision attack weapon. Mini-Spike weighs 12 kilograms (26.4 pounds) and is designed for operation by one man. Max range is 1,200 meters. The missile uses a "fire and forget" guidance system. That is, once the operator gets the target in the CLU crosshairs and fires the missile the computer and seeker in the missile warhead memorizes the target and homes in on it. The infantry love this because it allows them to take cover once the missile is fired. The operator can also order the missile fly straight, high or low towards the target. The CLU has night vision and video recording capability and can be used just for surveillance.

 

Mini-Spike consists of two components. There is an 8 kg (11.6 pound) CLU (Command and Launch Unit), for indicating the target and sending radio signals to the missile. Individual missiles come in firing containers weighing 4 kg (8.8 pounds) loaded. A soldier typically will carry the CLU and two missiles. There is also an optional tripod available. The missile warhead is designed to kill or injure people and destroy structures, not penetrate armor. The operator can deactivate the warhead after launch, to minimize collateral damage.

 

Mini-Spike is meant to provide a cheaper and smaller (and more portable) alternative to missiles like the U.S. Javelin. Introduced in 2002, Javelin weighs 22.3 kg (49 pounds, with disposable launch tube and battery/seeker coolant unit) and is fired from a 6.4 kg (14 pound) CLU (command launch unit). The CLU contains a 4x day sight and a 9x heat sensing night sight. The missile has a tandem (two warheads to blast through reactive armor) that can hit a target straight on or from the top. This latter capability enables the Javelin to destroy any existing tank (including the U.S. M1) with its 8.2 kg (18 pound) warhead. Maximum range is 2,500 meters. Best of all, the seeker on the missile is "fire and forget." Mini-Spike costs about half what Javelin systems go for and are easier for infantry to carry around. Infantry rarely need a missile as powerful as Javelin. More frequently the demand is for something smaller like Mini-Spike.

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19 avril 2012 4 19 /04 /avril /2012 12:40
IAI to offer Germany Heron TP systems

 

April 18, 2012 by Arie Egozi - FG

 

Tel Aviv - Germany is expected to re-evaluate the Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) Heron TP unmanned air system following Cassidian's decision to halt development work on its Talarion programme.

 

The German military already uses a version of IAI's Heron 1 UAS in Afghanistan and its army has previously been briefed on the capabilities of the turboprop-engined Heron TP.

 

Sources say Berlin's expected competition for a medium-altitude, long-endurance UAS will be fierce, with the General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Predator B another candidate.

 

EADS company Cassidian stopped work on the Talarion after failing to secure the required state funding from target nations France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Turkey to advance the programme towards building a flying prototype.

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19 avril 2012 4 19 /04 /avril /2012 12:00
Azerbaijan Buys Anti-Tank Missiles and Mine Throwers from Israel

 

April 18, 2012 defpro.com

 

Baku | Azerbaijan bough anti-tank missiles and mine throwers from Israel. APA reports that Azerbaijan reached agreements with the Israeli “Rafael” company last year on the purchase of “Spike SR” and “Spike LR” anti-tank missiles, as well as Cardom 120mm mine throwers with Elbit Systems.

 

No additional details were provided on Azerbaijan’s order and the terms of delivery.

 

Spike SR is the short range version of the anti-tank weapon system, with a minimum range of 200 m (660 ft) and a maximum range of 800 m. It is intended for infantry use. The reusable command and launch unit (CLU), battery, tripod and the thermal sight are also used by other versions of the Spike missile family (with the exception of Spike NLOS), each weighing 5 kg, 1 kg, 2.8 kg, and 4 kg, respectively.

 

Spike LR is a long range version. The weight of the missile is 14 kg, offering a maximum range of 4,000 m and used by dismounted soldiers and light combat vehicles. It adds fibre-optic communications to and from the launching soldier during flight.

 

The 120 mm Cardom mine throwers, produced by Soltam Systems, can discharge 15 projectiles per minute. Their maximum range is 7,240 metres.

 

Models of the Spike anti-tank missiles and Cardom mine throwers were on display at the military parade held in Baku last year. (APA/Rashad Suleymanov)

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25 mars 2012 7 25 /03 /mars /2012 18:16
Israeli defense sector told to 'clean up'

 

TEL AVIV, Israel, March 20 (UPI)

 

Israeli defense contractors have been ordered to observe a "compliance program" intended to eradicate corruption on defense deals.

 

Two weeks after India banned one of Israel's top defense companies amid bribery allegations, Israeli defense contractors have been ordered to observe a "compliance program" to eradicate corruption in defense deals.

 

The March 8 announcement by India's Defense Ministry blacklisting state-owned Israel Military Industries, along with five Indian and foreign companies, over a 2009 bribery scandal was a major blow to Israel's defense sector, which relies heavily on military exports. The ban from India is for 10 years.

 

IMI has rejected the Indian allegation it was involved a scandal that centered on Sudipta Ghosh, who in 2009 was director general of India's state-run Ordnance Factory Board.

 

He was sacked and indicted for alleged involvement in a wide-ranging conspiracy that included receiving bribes from defense contractors in exchange for favoring them in major Indian defense contracts.

 

The ban on IMI against competing in Indian government tenders could have a significant impact on Israeli defense sales to India, one of the Jewish state's biggest military customers.

 

Indian news reports stated that IMI has been forced to pull out of a multimillion-dollar plan to establish a factory producing artillery shell fuses. That's believed to be part of a scrapped $24 million deal to set up five plants in India to produce 155mm B-Modular Charge systems and other propellant charges for large-caliber artillery operated by the Indian army.

 

Israel's Defense Ministry, which oversees all military-related export contracts, has decreed that all Israeli companies sign on to the compliance program in line with stricter business regulations Israel's trying to adopt as a new member of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Israel joined the OECD in 2011.

 

The ministry's director general, Udi Shani, has ordered its Export Licensing Division not to issue export permits to companies that refuse to adopt the new program on ethics and transparency.

 

The ministry said that several dozen Israeli companies have already agreed to adhere to the policies of the new program, while others were in the process of doing so.

 

Israel's defense industry, the most advanced in the Middle East and with close ties with the U.S. defense establishment, is a major revenue earner. It's chalked up billions of dollars in arms sales to put Israel in the front rank of the world's defense exporters.

 

But there have long been concerns the ministry has kept Israel's scores of arms exporters and arms traders on a very loose leash.

 

Prominent military and intelligence commentator Yossi Melman observed in exposing questionable Israeli arms deals in 2004 that these were "a genuine reflection of an unbridled arms export policy by the Defense Ministry."

 

Melman noted in the liberal Haaretz daily that the Defense Ministry, which has immense power in a state that's in a perpetual state of conflict, "has always had an extremely independent policy, which ignores the existence of the Foreign Ministry."

 

The defense establishment, which includes licensed arms dealers who work through the ministry, has frequently sold weapons to unsavory regimes to further U.S. or Israeli strategic policies or turned a blind eye to illegal arms sales that further Israeli interests abroad.

 

"As early as the 1950s," Melman observed, "Foreign Minister Golda Meir complained that Shimon Peres, then director general of the Defense Ministry (and now Israel's president) had kept secret the initiatives carried out in France for acquiring military equipment for the collusion resulting in the Sinai War."

 

He was referring to the secret pact between Israel, Britain and France to invade Egypt in 1956 to seize control of the Suez Canal after it was nationalized by President Gamal Abdel Nasser.

 

Melman noted in 2004 that "in practice, there is nearly no oversight" of Defense Ministry arms deals, "neither by the government or the Knesset."

 

Six years later, he observed in a January 2010 report that seven Israeli arms dealers "are currently in jail in the United States, Russia, France and Britain" on charges of illegal arms dealing. All were former members of Israel's armed forces, and most were officers with ranks up to lieutenant colonel.

 

"All seven are familiar faces in the corridors of the defense establishment and at one time received arms dealing permits from the Defense Ministry," Melman noted.

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9 mars 2012 5 09 /03 /mars /2012 13:15
South Korea to Begin Spike-NLOS Acquisition

Spike missile launch (Photo Rafael)

 

7/3/2012 Arie Egozi - israeldefense.com

 

Future SPIKE missiles will be offered with a laser-homing head

 

Despite Seoul’s anger over Israel’s preference for an Italian training aircraft over a South Korean one, South Korea’s military will soon receive the Rafael-produced Spike-NLOS missiles.

 

South Korea sought to gain portable capability for launching long-ranged missiles, and therefore, chose to install missile launchers on Ford 550 vehicles, which carry protective solutions against small arms and shrapnel designed by Plasan. The Spike-NLOS is the long-range missile of Rafael’s SPIKE missile family. It has a range of 25 km, is extremely precise, and can be equipped with several types of warheads.

 

Rafael is anticipating additional deals for the export of Spike missiles. A demonstration of the Spike-ER missile was recently held in Israel when it was installed onboard an IAF Cobra helicopter. Representatives of foreign corps attended the demonstration of the missile, which has a range of 8 km. The advanced missile is marketed around the world as a more efficient substitute to the aging Hellfire missile, and it seems that several militaries will replace the US missile with the one produced by Rafael. Thus far, the missile has been installed on Spain’s Tiger helicopters, Italy’s I-129 helicopters, and Romania’s Puma helicopters.

 

The long-ranged missile can also be installed on helicopters, enabling a launch towards a ground target from a great distance that could be difficult to hit using ground fire.

 

Rafael’s Spike missiles are presently equipped with day and night homing heads. According to a source in Rafael, the missile will also be offered in the future with a laser homing head that will enable the missile to home in on a laser spot created by a laser marker positioned on the ground or operated from the air.

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9 mars 2012 5 09 /03 /mars /2012 08:25
Rafael adds laser sensor to Spike missile

 

Mar. 8, 2012 by Arie Egozi - Flight Global

 

Rafael will add a laser homing sensor to its Spike NLOS helicopter-launched long-range missile, with the new capability to be demonstrated soon, the company says.

 

Recently integrated on an Israeli air force Bell AH-1 Cobra attack helicopter, the Spike NLOS currently features a dual electro-optical/infrared seeker. The weapon has a range of 13.5nm (25km) and can be fitted with at least three types of warhead, for use against tanks and armoured vehicles, bunkers and infantry.

 

Rafael also produces the short-range Spike ER (below), which can hit targets from a distance of 4.3nm. The weapon has been integated with the Eurofighter Tiger for Spain, AgustaWestland's AW129 for Italy and with the Eurocopter/IAR SA330 Puma used by Romania.

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29 février 2012 3 29 /02 /février /2012 18:35
Rafael to Sell Spike Missiles to Germany for Hundreds of Millions of US Dollars

 

29/2/2012 Amir Rapaport – Israel defence

 

In a special interview with Rafael’s Marketing VP, Lubra Drori reveals Rafael will sell additional Spike missiles to Germany

 

Rafael Advanced Defense Systems has signed a contract to supply additional Spike missiles to Germany via its German subsidiary, Eurospike. The deal, worth hundreds of millions of US dollars, was revealed by Luba Drori, Rafael’s Marketing VP.

 

The Spike missiles are a family of missiles with various operational ranges and similar operational principles: they all possess electro-optic guidance and a doubled (tandem) warhead, intended to penetrate reactive protection. The initial warhead detonates the reactive protection while the second warhead penetrates the passive armor via a hollow charge.

 

The missile has four rectangular fins that it uses to guide itself towards the target. It is possible to launch the various Spike versions through several means: from a helicopter, from a vehicle, and even a shoulder-mounted missile launcher. The Spike LR has an effective operational range that is between 200 to 4,000 m.

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17 février 2012 5 17 /02 /février /2012 12:40
Facing a Growing Missile Threat, Israel revamps Air defense Command

 

February 16, 2012 Noam Eshel – Defense Update

 

Facing a growing threat of ballistic missiles and rockets capable of hitting any point in the country from distances of four, up to 2,000km, Israel has grouped its air defense forces into the ‘Air Defense Command’, integrating all active defense elements into an multi-layered defensive system. Israel’s missile defense wing currently maintains two principal assets, the ‘Sword Shield’ unit operating the IAI Arrow-2 ASIP (improved versions) since 1998, and the new ‘Iron Dome’ unit, equipped with three Rafael Counter-Rocket, Artillery & Missile (C-RAM) missile systems. The two systems were developed in Israel to meet specific requirements, peculiar to Israel at the time. The Arrow was designed to intercept Scud type medium range ballistic missiles, acquired by Iraq and Syria, while the Iron Dome was developed to defend from terrorist rocket attacks Israel has endured since 1968.

 

Arrow 2 is designed to intercept ballistic missiles at their terminal phase, as they re-enter the atmosphere. Unlike the modern air defense missiles, employing ‘hit to kill’ interceptors, Arrow 2 uses an advanced ‘aimable’ warhead to increase hit probability when passing the target at extremely high closing speed. Arrow 2 ASIP represents the latest evolution of the Arrow system, capable of intercepting faster targets, fired from longer ranges. The next step in its evolution is the Arrow 3 Exo-Atmospheric missile interceptor, currently in development. With thrust vectoring kill vehicle designed for hit-to-kill intercept, Arrow 3 will provide the ‘upper tier’ for the Israeli missile defense system, engaging hostile missiles in space, through their midcourse phase. The proliferation of ballistic missiles throughout Asia has triggered missile defense programs in the region, and the Israelis are hopeful that the newly expanded cooperation with the Boeing Company will open new opportunities for export of Arrow systems.

 

A most significant change will take place in 2013, as the new David’s Sling missile system, currently in final developmental testing at Rafael, will reach initial operational capability. Unlike the task specific Arrow 2 and Iron Dome, David’s Sling was developed as a flexible, multi-purpose weapon system capable of engaging aircraft, cruise missiles, ballistic and guided missiles as well as long range ballistic rockets. The missile is designed for land based, maritime and airborne applications. Providing a common missile known as ‘Stunner’, it is fitted with a dual seeker (IIR+RF) and a powerful multi-stage rocket motor enabling all weather operation and powerful kinematics including effective endgame maneuverability at extended ranges. David’s Sling will initially deploy with the IAF ‘Air Defense’ wing, replacing the Hawk missiles.

 

The system’s primary role will be to intercept medium and long-range ballistic and guided rockets, such as the Fajr-5 and M-600 (a Syrian copy of the Iranian Fateh-110), carrying half-ton warhead, these threats have a range of about 300 kilometers.

 

A different threat expected from the sea is the Russian supersonic Yakhont anti-ship missile recently delivered to Syria. This threat would be challenged by another air-defense system developed in Israel – IAI’s Barak 8. The missile, developed by IAI is designed to replace the existing Barak I point defense missile system deployed on the Israeli Saar V corvettes, providing extended ‘networked’ air defense protecting naval forces or offshore installations over a large area. Unlike the Arrow and David’s Sling, Barak-8 was developed without U.S. support, as it was designed primarily for the export market. Developed primarily as a naval air defense missile, Barak 8 is the cornerstone of the Indian Medium and Long Range Surface to Air Missile (MR-SAM/LR-SAM). The missile made the first flight test in 2010 and the entire system is scheduled to enter developmental testing in Israel and India in early 2012.

 

Iron Dome represents the world’s first combat proven C-RAM missile system. The IAF is planning to deploy a fourth Iron Dome battery in the coming months and is mulling the possibility of stationing it in Haifa Bay to protect Israel’s strategic industrial hub located there. The Defense Ministry has allocated a budget to manufacture three additional batteries by the end of 2012. IAF operational requirements call for the deployment of about a dozen batteries along Israel’s northern and southern borders. Future evolution of Iron Dome foresee the use of the system as a mobile asset, providing mobile land forces with protective C-RAM coverage, countering UAVs and defeating precision guided weapon attacks. Rafael is also evaluating a short-range complement for the current system, utilizing a guided projectile to be developed with the Italian group Oto-Melara.

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14 février 2012 2 14 /02 /février /2012 13:00
Unmanned systems lead IAI push for international growth

IAI Ben Gurion facility – photo Israel Aerospace industries

 

Feb 14, 2012 by Zach Rosenberg  - Flight Global

 

Tel Aviv - Like all of the Middle Eastern nation's defence companies, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) is in a delicate predicament: it cannot reveal much of its clientele, and Israeli politics - internal and external - put major limitations on what it can sell, and where.

 

Many of the governments buying IAI equipment, including major customers buying top-shelf systems, do not speak publicly about their purchases, and IAI does not disclose them.

 

"I can tell you no-one bought from Israel because they like us, or they love us," says Tommy Silberring, general manager of IAI's Malat division, which manufactures its UAVs. "They buy from us because we have a capability that is maybe better in price, or because we have the flexibility to enable that country to integrate their own systems."

 

IAI is not only the country's largest defence company, but also one of the major drivers of high technology in a place famous for its technological prowess. Its 17,000 employees are divided into six divisions, three concerned with military projects and three with civil work. IAI's backlog is valued at $10.6 billion and in January the manufacturer disclosed its largest order ever, valued at $1.6 billion and covering a range of systems including Heron 1 UAVs, Harop stand-off munitions and Green Pine radars.

 

Among the civil divisions, Bedek is pre-eminent. Based at IAI's facility besides Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv, Bedek is mainly concerned with passenger-to-cargo conversions of the Boeing 737, 747 and 767, a roster to which additions are under consideration. Maintenance, repair and operations work is also a major contributor to IAI's bottom line.

 

SPANNING SECTORS

 

IAI also produces G150, G200 and G280 midsize business jets for Gulfstream. The aircraft are built in Tel Aviv and flown to the USA for interior outfitting. The G280 is the latest offering. After a four-year development programme the aircraft has earned approval from the Israeli civil aviation authority, but is not yet certified with the US Federal Aviation Administration or European Aviation Safety Agency. Despite what is widely acknowledged as expectation-exceeding performance, the depressed market for new midsize business jets and correspondingly small order book means it may be some time before IAI comes anywhere near recouping its development costs.

 

The Israeli Defence Force is in the middle of a highly competitive $1 billion contest for an advanced trainer aircraft to replace its aged Douglas A-4 Skyhawks. As whichever trainer is eventually selected will be operated by IAI, the company stands to gain either way. The field has narrowed to two competitors: Italy's Alenia Aermacchi M346 and South Korea's KAI T-50. The governments of both nations are long-time customers for various IAI products, and both nations have threatened to look elsewhere for equipment should their products not be selected. Preliminary indications are that Italy has the favoured product.

 

Unmanned systems lead IAI push for international growth

German Luftwaffe IAI Heron, photo Israel Aerospace industries

UAV contests in Canada and Germany could yield quick divdends for the Heron

 

Special-mission aircraft - regular aircraft packed full of specialised electronics - have been particularly lucrative for IAI. Its offerings include heavily modified Gulfstream Vs for airborne early warning (AEW), signals intelligence and synthetic aperture radar. Several deals are potentially forthcoming, and Italy has reportedly committed to buy two of the AEW aircraft if Aermacchi wins its trainer bid.

 

IAI's bread and butter is UAVs for export. Widely considered to be among the inventors of the modern UAV, IAI remains on the cutting edge of international markets in that area. It offers a more diverse array of UAVs than any other manufacturer in Israel, ranging from a tiny hand-launched aircraft, the Mosquito, to the Heron TP, a large medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) aircraft capable of staying in the air for two days.

 

In keeping with the tradition of Israeli defence companies, almost 80% of its sales are made abroad. India, one of the world's largest and fastest-growing defence markets, is a particularly loyal customer of IAI's. India operates around 50 Heron UAVs with IAI-developed radar and optical payloads, plus a number of IAI-modified special-mission aircraft. "India is one of our biggest markets," confirms Silberring.

 

CROWDED ARENA

 

Other countries operating the Heron include Australia, France, Germany and Brazil. Most operators have only a handful of aircraft on a lease basis, many for operations over Afghanistan, but IAI is angling for purchases. France has selected a version of the aircraft co-produced with Dassault, called the Harfang, for purchase, despite blistering criticism from the French senate. In each of these contests the aircraft faces competition from the General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Predator B, the only other large MALE aircraft available on the international market. However, the arena is likely to get more crowded as other companies - particularly Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems - bring their own offerings to the table. But for the meantime IAI has a lock on non-NATO countries.

 

IAI's electronics division, Elta, is the fourth-largest radar manufacturer in the world, providing systems for both IAI's products and those of others. Ironically, despite it being among the early adaptors of solid-state electronics, Elta's most sought-after and profitable services are for older technology. Many of IAI's customers are simply not in the market for cutting-edge technology.

 

"We thought that we would phase out of [TWT, transmitting wave tube] technology, and we actually moved long ago into solid-state technology," says Igal Karney, Elta's manager of marketing and sales. "But still there are so many systems in the field, so the need for TWT has even increased."

 

Rumours that IMI, a state-owned munitions company, may be primed for acquisition are emerging in defence circles. Members of the Israeli government occasionally make public statements about partial or total privatisation. Such changes have been floated for years, but Israel's falling defence budget may finally be the requisite catalyst.

 

Either way, change of one sort or another is coming to IAI. Its president Yitzhak Nissan, who has held the post for six years, is leaving his position after a semi-public fight with the chairman of the board. Two board members are following. But whether this results in any major changes to business strategy or product road-maps is yet to be seen.

 

Still, IAI has entered 2012 with a strong outlook. UAV contests in Canada, Germany and Australia could yield quick dividends for the Heron, and a number of smaller, somewhat more opaque contests in smaller nations also offer potential.

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