So while Hezbollah may have as many as '100,000 rockets' from Iran, they can only launch a limited # of them per day, while Israel could rain-down thousands of missiles and smart bombs on southern Lebanon, setting back Hezbollah capabilities 'by decades' while they struggle to perhaps fire off a few rounds towards Israeli population centers.
To enable this strategy, Israel is currently in the midst of a radical air-power expansion that has brought a 4x increase in her striking power over the span of just two years:
The firepower of the Israel Air Force (IAF) will be four times greater by year’s end than it was two years ago, according to its commander, Maj. Gen. Amir Eshel, enabling Israel to bring another round of fighting with Hezbollah to a swift end.
“We can destroy [Hezbollah’s] military capabilities and the infrastructure that supports its activities on a scale that would take decades to rebuild,” he told a conference on national security, “an unimaginable scale”. ...
Eshel acknowledged that Hezbollah now has precision rocketry capable of hitting Israel’s northernmost air force base and to interfere with operations. However, he said, it would not diminish the IAF’s offensive capabilities, which can be projected from other bases as well....
The use of precision munitions and upgraded intelligence, based in part on satellites, accounts in good part for the increase in the IAF’s effective firepower... the air force could carry out thousands of accurate strikes in a single day.
By the end of this year, the air force will be able accomplish in 24 hours what it took three days to accomplish in the war with Hezbollah eight years ago...
And if the Lebanese national government -and Army- get involved? It's now pretty much controlled by Hezbollah anyway, so it's not hard to envision the entire country dragged into a war with Israel. And which side would Obama take? Good question!
Yet this would probably be a grave error for the Lebanese, as already back in 2010 Israel had fully prepared a plan for the IDF to wipe the entire Lebanese military off face of the Earth in just four hours... one can only assume they're still ready to do that -and more- if circumstances demand it.
An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was identified penetrating Israeli
airspace this morning, and was intercepted by the IAF at approximately
10:00 AM.
IDF soldiers are currently searching the area where the drone was
downed, in open areas in the northern Negev, to locate and identify the
drone.
The Times of Israel reports that the drone may have come from Lebanon. If correct, that may not be good. It's a long way from Lebanon to the Northern Negev. The drone might have crossed most of the country undetected. But the IDF seems to be downplaying the incident.
The IDF shot down a foreign drone that had
penetrated deep into Israeli airspace on Saturday afternoon, flying for
half an hour before it was intercepted.
After an initial investigation, military
officials said the unmanned aerial vehicle, which was taken down north
of Beersheba, did not come from the Gaza Strip, leading the army to
consider the possibility that it originated in Lebanon. Hezbollah has
flown drones into Israeli airspace a few times in the past, though not
for several years.
IDF Spokesperson Yoav Mordechai said that the
Israeli Air Force was able to identify the unmanned aerial vehicle while
it was flying over the Mediterranean, and that the IAF stayed close to
the drone throughout its flight over Israel until the decision was made
to shoot it down in the northern Negev desert.
Nobody was hurt in the incident.
Lt. Col. Avital Leibovich said Israeli systems
on the ground alerted the air force to the drone Saturday morning. She
said it flew over the Gaza Strip but did not originate from the
Palestinian territory, adding that Israel didn’t know the drone’s
starting point and an investigation was under way.
Leibovich did not give more details, but
Israel media reported that it might have been an intelligence gathering
drone that was not carrying explosives.
Leibovich said the operation was successful and the military was in control throughout.
Here's a short video the IDF released of the drone being shot down.
Really cool video: IMAX Fighter Pilot: Operation Red Flag
It's not quite the same as watching it on a 7-story IMAX screen, but Stephen D, who tells me that this video was being shown at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, sent me this video which he says includes Israelis (who fly circles around everyone else). I'm still watching it at this writing, but it's neat enough to share. Here's the blurb:
Boeing Company and IMAX present film Fighter Pilot: Operation Red Flag
John ("Otter") Stratton is a young American fighter pilot who flies the F-15 Eagle. His grandfather was a decorated World War II flying ace, and he intended to follow in his footsteps. Red Flag is the final training for pilots and their aircrews before being sent into actual combat. We follow our young pilot as he makes his way through this extraordinary event held in the desert of Nevada.
The public supports tough measures – including the possible use of military force – to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Nearly six-in-ten (58%) say it is more important to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, even if it means taking military action. Just 30% say it is more important to avoid a military conflict with Iran, even if it means that country develops nuclear weapons. These opinions are little changed from October 2009.
There have been reports in recent weeks that Israel may soon attack Iran’s nuclear facilities. About half of Americans (51%) say the United States should remain neutral if Israel takes action to stop Iran’s nuclear program, but far more say the U.S. should support (39%) than oppose (5%) an Israeli attack.
...
There are large demographic differences in views about what the U.S. should do if Israel attacks Iran. A majority of women (55%) say the U.S. should stay neutral. Men are more divided over whether the U.S. should stay neutral (47%) or support Israel (45%). Young people also are far more likely than older Americans to say the U.S. should stay neutral.
Fully 64% of white evangelical Protestants say that the U.S. should support Israel if it attacks Iran in an effort to stop their nuclear weapon program. That compares with 42% of white mainline Protestants and 41% of white Catholics.
There is a wide divide among Republicans on the issue of Iran. Fully 71% of conservative Republicans think the U.S. should support Israel’s military action if they attack Iran, compared with 43% of moderate and liberal Republicans. A majority of independents and Democrats (including both liberal and more moderate Democrats) think the U.S. should stay neutral.
...
Despite the recent push for tougher economic sanctions against Iran by the U.S. and its allies, 64% of the public thinks that tougher economic sanctions will not work in getting Iran to give up its nuclear program. Just 21% think they will work. In October 2009, 56% thought tougher economic sanctions would not work in stopping Iran’s nuclear weapons program.
There is wide consensus across party lines that tougher economic sanctions on Iran will be ineffective. Most Republicans (72%) and independents (67%), as well as 56% of Democrats, say that Iran will not give up its nuclear program even with tougher economic sanctions.
...
An overwhelming majority of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents who agree with the Tea Party (84%) say that the U.S. should prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, even if it means taking military action. That compares with a smaller majority (64%) of Republicans who disagree with or have no opinion of the Tea Party.
The gap among Republicans is even larger on what the U.S. should do if Israel attacks Iran to stop its nuclear weapons program. Fully 81% of Tea Party Republicans say the U.S. should support Israel’s military action, compared with just 43% of non-Tea Party Republicans.
All of this is an argument why Israel must attack Iran before the US elections, while public opinion still matters to Obama. There is no choice.
Eight jet engines stolen from Israeli F-15 and F-16 jets
I don't recall seeing this one in any Israeli media (Hat Tip: Sunlight).
Someone has apparently managed to steal eight, yes, eight retired Pratt & Whitney F100 fighter jet engines that power F-15s and F-16s from an Israeli air base, according to an AFP article.
How on Earth did this happen in one of the world’s most security-conscious nations? I mean, each engine weighs several tons and requires a serious truck to move them. Can anyone say inside job? For now, the IAF is saying the engines were likely stolen for scrap metal. I mean, the F100 isn’t exactly cutting edge engine tech. Heck, depending on the variant, those stolen F100s may be the version that was plagued with so many problems that it prompted the U.S. Air Force to commission GE to build its F110 as an alternate engine to the F100 in the 1980s.
The real concern here isn’t the technology in the engines being stolen, it’s the fact that the IAF (or at least units at that base) is so corrupt that eight jet engines were stolen in plain view. You can’t exactly sneak them out of a hangar in your pocket.
I am an Orthodox Jew - some would even call me 'ultra-Orthodox.' Born in Boston, I was a corporate and securities attorney in New York City for seven years before making aliya to Israel in 1991 (I don't look it but I really am that old :-). I have been happily married to the same woman for thirty-five years, and we have eight children (bli ayin hara) ranging in age from 13 to 33 years and nine grandchildren. Four of our children are married! Before I started blogging I was a heavy contributor on a number of email lists and ran an email list called the Matzav from 2000-2004. You can contact me at: IsraelMatzav at gmail dot com
