IDF suspends Iron Dome purchases due to budget cuts
The IDF has suspended purchases of the Iron Dome anti-missile system due to budget shortfalls. The military currently has three batteries and is scheduled to receive a fourth in the coming months. A fifth battery was supposed to be in place by early 2013.So if we can't afford the fancy anti-missile system, does that mean we go back to fighting ground wars and killing terrorists instead? That may not be such a bad idea.
The decision to suspend purchase means that the IDF will not receive its fifth and sixth Iron Dome batteries as detailed in its annual work plan. The defense establishment had originally planned to form an array of nine Iron Dome batteries.
Defense establishment officials have reportedly inform their US counterparts of the decision. The United States is partially funding the Iron Dome project, to the tune of $206 million.
Defense officials said that the Iron Dome's operational success, of 75%, proved pivotal in the latest round of escalation in the south, warning that the missile defense system is crucial to Israel's defense in the event of a multi-front regional conflict.
"The current budget reverts the IDF back to 2003 – the year that saw the lowest training rate ever," a military source said.
The IDF had recently canceled six Ground Forces drills. "We warned about the repercussions of cutting the defense budget and we're paying the price for those cuts."
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 10:08 PM
1 Comments:
Well, they need to incorporate lasers or whatever else is coming out of your labs. And they need to deploy them in a classified fashion so that their capabilities, shortfalls, quantity, location, etc. aren't so easily found on google. It's great to have brought it out in the open to build confidence in the concept among your public, but "budget" is as good a reason as any to re-classify a big chunk of the program.
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