US letting an Israeli into the control room
Finally, some good news.You may recall how the US insisted on controlling the x-band radar that the Bush administration gave us as a parting gift without even letting Israelis into the base on which it is stationed. You may also recall that Japan has a similar arrangement, but when North Korea shot off its ballistic missile test last month, the Obama administration refused to turn the radar on.
The good news is that the IDF has been allowed to set up a joint command center at the Negev base where the radar is stationed (which obviously looks nothing like the seaborne version pictured above).
Several months ago, the Americans changed their position and allowed an Air Force major from the Air Defense Division to maintain a permanent presence at a joint command center inside the base. The base is operated by some 100 American soldiers from the European Command.Note that the Americans are running the show and that there's still only one Israeli being allowed in. I argued here that we are better off with the Americans running the show without us than we would be without the radar at all. I still believe that. If there's really an attack, God forbid, the Americans are unlikely to refuse to turn the radar on. They know that Iran would like nothing more than to have some 'high quality' American casualties.
The X-Band radar participated in the successful test of the Arrow anti-missile weapon last month. Defense officials said the radar played an important role in Israel's defense architecture because, while incapable of directing the Arrow toward its target, it could successfully track a so-called "split warhead," which employs decoys.
Once a warhead of this type comes apart, officials said, several targets appear on the radar screens of Arrow controllers, who then must work to identify the actual warhead. The X-Band radar, they explained, can readily do this and then transmit relevant data to the Arrow command center at Palmahim or Ein Shemer.
"We are preparing for future threats that will fly at higher altitudes and have split warheads," one official said.
Iran is believed to be developing a split-warhead capability for its long-range Shihab missile arsenal.
On the other hand, with Hopenchange in power, one never knows for sure....
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:16 PM
3 Comments:
It changes nothing. The acid test will come in the wake of an IDF operation against Iran...
Then we'll know if the US intends to turn on the radar.
Have you considered that the U.S. can use that center to intercept IAF planes on their way to bomb the Iranian facilities?
It's one thing to have Muslims trying to shoot down Israeli aircraft, and quite another thing for the USAF to do that R”L.
Have you considered that the U.S. can use that center to intercept IAF planes on their way to bomb the Iranian facilities? And that is the reason it has been out-of-bounds for Israelis? (Forget the token Jew.)
It's one thing to have Muslims trying to shoot down Israeli aircraft, and quite another thing for the USAF to do that R”L.
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