Eye on the Enemy: New Surface-to-Air Missile Systems , Crisis with South Africa
IAF: New surface-to-air missile systems
Jpost - Yaakov Katz
The "Israel" Air Force is drafting a new operational doctrine aimed at improving its ability to confront the deployment of advanced surface-to-air missile systems throughout the region.
The "White Paper" is a plan under development by the "IAF's" operations division, and includes an analysis of each front that "Israel" faces like Syria, Lebanon and Gaza, in addition to different SAM systems deployed in the various areas of operations.
For example, over the past year, Syria received several SA-17 batteries from Russia according to a deal signed year ago. Several batteries are already operating and deployed in Syria.
SA-17, also known as the Buk system, has a range of 30 km. as it can intercept multiple targets flying at altitude of 40000 feet. They can also be mounted on trucks, making them difficult targets.
Hizbullah in Lebanon is also believed to have improved its SAM capabilities over the past year and the "Israeli" Army suspects that the guerrilla group - which is known to have a large number of shoulder-launched missiles - also now has SA-8 truck-mounted Russian SAM systems. The SA-8 is reported to have a range of 30 km.
On the southern front, Israel's main concern is the shoulder-launched missiles that have been smuggled into the Gaza Strip.
The "IAF" is now taking precautions when flying along the borders of Egypt where terrorists are believed to be storing missiles. Last August, a missile was fired at an Apache helicopter but missed the target. The army doubts that the missile smuggled into Gaza and Sinai came from Libya, where large stockpiles of shoulder-launched missiles went missing after the revolution there last year.
"The threat to our aerial supremacy is growing and we need to adapt out operational plans to maintain our ability to work despite the existence of these systems," a senior IAF officer said.
White Paper plan includes several layers- starting with upgrading fatal (explosive) systems to the formulation of new flight directions depending on the area of operations.
Few months ago, "Israeli" Military Industries introduced a flare smaller and lighter than those in IAF's supply and would enable the aircraft to carry a bigger load and to fly for a longer time in dangerous areas.
As revealed recently in the Jerusalem Post, the air force is also working along with Rafael Advanced Defense Systems to develop a system that can intercept SAMs fired at helicopters.
The system, called Fliker, fires an interceptor at incoming missiles and is designed to minimize debris and thereby reduce the risk that shrapnel will hit and damage the aircraft.
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Gantz meets with Chinese vice president
"Israeli" Radio
Chief of General Staff Gen. Benny Gantz met in Beijing with Chinese Vice
President " Xi Jinping," where they focused on the regional turmoil in the Middle East.
The Chinese vice president stated China's desire to strengthen ties with "Israel" and expressed understanding about "Israel's" concerns on the Iranian issue. He said that all diplomatic efforts should first be exhausted on the matter.
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Deepening crisis in "Israel's" relationship with South Africa
Channel 1
Avi Granot, head of the Africa Division in "Israel's" Foreign Ministry, held a tense conversation with the South African ambassador Ismail Coovadia concerning the labeling of goods originating from settlements.
But this is not only the case; it seems that the Foreign Ministry depicts the situation between "Israel" and South Africa as a serious crisis, and product labeling is just the tip of the iceberg.
Tension between "Israel' and South Africa began earlier this week, when a regional agriculture minister decided in the last minute not to attend the "Agritech" conference in Tel Aviv, after he was asked by South Africa's Foreign Minister not to fly to "Israel'. Pretoria's mayor was supposed to be the guest of honor at the conference, but he cancelled due to pressures from South Africa.
Minister Davies, who is responsible for labeling of "Israeli" goods produced from the settlements, has refused to meet with the Jewish lobby to negotiate the issue.
Sources from the FM reported that next week additional meetings will take place with the SA ambassador to examine the future of "Israeli"-South African relations.
Source: Hebrew papers
