Posted by
Gray Ghost on Monday, May 04, 2009 1:55:51 PM
Air Force reservists (who operate the Arrow and Patriot missile defense systems) have recently begun spending one day a week on duty to sharpen their skills, amid fears that in a conflict with Iran, dozens of long-range missiles would be fired at Israel. The decision to call up the operators of the Arrow and Patriot systems was made last year by head of the IAF's Air Defense Division Brig.-Gen. Daniel Milo.
An unidentified Israeli Air Force (IAF) officer reported, "We are working hard to be ready for the Iranian threat. We are preparing for barrages, split warheads and other surprises and therefore we need to retain a high operational level by everyone, including reservists." The scenarios that are conducted include the firing of large barrages at Israel from different countries at once, and the need for the operator to decide which missile to intercept first and at what stage of its flight. "There are difficult dilemmas that the operators face when it comes to missile defense," the officer said.
Last month, the IAF held its 17th test of the Arrow 2 interceptor, shooting down a missile mimicking an Iranian Shihab ballistic missile. The high-powered American X-Band radar (deployed in the Negev Desert in late 2008 as a farewell gift from former President George W. Bush) participated in the recent Arrow test and tracked the incoming target. Military sources said that the American X-Band radar was capable of providing "several minutes" of warning from when a missile is launched from Iran and until it is supposed to land in Israel.
Later this year, the IAF will hold an exercise with the US military to jointly test three different ballistic missile defense systems, including the Israeli-made Arrow and the American-made THAAD and Aegis.
The French newspaper L'Express reported Sunday, May 3, 2009, that IAF fighter jets recently conducted a drill above the Strait of Gibraltar in preparation for a possible attack on Iran's nuclear facilities. According to the newspaper, the exercise included a mid-air refueling drill.
This is getting serious. The report from the French newspaper is especially troubling. Unless something happens in Iran, I would expect the Middle East to "explode" in no more than a year.