Israel Matzav

IDF preparing for US missile systems in Israel

Two weeks ago, I reported that the United States was considering deploying anti-missile systems to combat Iran in Israel, Turkey and the Balkans in light of Soviet objections to their deployment in Poland and the Czech Republic. Next month, the Israeli Air Force's Air Defense Division will hold a joint drill, called Juniper Cobra, with the US Military's European Command (EUCOM) and the US Missile Defense Agency (MDA). The drill is being described as the largest joint exercise ever held by the US and Israel. During the course of the drill, the US and Israel will jointly test three different ballistic missile defense systems.

Given that the US already has deployed X-Band radar in Israel's Negev desert - a departure gift from former US President George W. Bush - Israel is hoping that once the drill is over, the United States will decide to leave the missile defense systems here.

Under the original plan, initiated by the Bush administration, an advanced radar was to be deployed in the Czech Republic and to be connected to some 10 missile interceptors based in Poland. The plan has been met by fierce Russian opposition, which led to the current reevaluation being conducted in Washington.

According to various European news reports, Turkey, Israel and the Balkans are under evaluation as alternative sites for the systems. A senior Israeli defense official told The Jerusalem Post that while the US has not made an official request to deploy the systems here, the topic was being discussed in unofficial channels.

"There is some sense in deploying additional systems here since the US already has the X-Band radar in the Negev, storehouses with equipment and close cooperation with the IDF," the official said.

Juniper Cobra, which will be held in October in Israel, will include the newly-developed Arrow 2 as well as America's THAAD (Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense) and the ship-based Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System. While Israel and the US have held Juniper Cobra exercises for the past five years, the upcoming drill is planned to be the most complex and extensive to date.

It would certainly be good news if the anti-missile systems were deployed here.

I assume that like the X-Band, the new systems would be operated by American technicians. While there has been some doubt expressed in the past about the trustworthiness of the Obama administration to share information with us, having the systems here is certainly better than not having them here.

The picture at the top is a land-based x-band radar system like the one deployed in the Negev.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 10:58 AM