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US refusing to let Israeli systems into F-35

Feb. 15, 2009
Yaakov Katz , THE JERUSALEM POST

 

 

The Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
An American refusal to permit the installation of Israeli-made defense systems in the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) may postpone the planned delivery of the fifth-generation stealth jet beyond the target date of 2014, senior defense officials told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday.

According to the officials, defense industries such as Rafael, Elbit and Israel Aerospace Industries subsidiary Elta have protested the decision with Defense Ministry Dir.-Gen. Pinchas Buhris who last month made a lightning visit to Washington DC to discuss the issue with the Pentagon.

The officials said that the new Obama administration would likely make a decision on the issue in the coming months. Israel and the US are scheduled to sign a Letter of Agreement by the end of the year.

Negotiations on the integration of Israeli technology began several years ago after Israel paid $20 million to receive the low-level status of a Security Cooperation Participant in the JSF program. Nine countries - including the US, Britain, Turkey and Australia - are full members of the JSF program.

Last week, in an interview with Aviation Week, Maj.-Gen. Charles Davis, executive officer of the JSF program, said that Israel would not be allowed to put its own systems in the JSF, also known as the F-35.

"They [Israel] are going to buy aircraft that have basically the same capability as all the others," Davis told Aviation Week. "They are trying to do a requirements analyses for future missions. That [customization] is doable through software. It is not doable by Israelis sticking boxes in the airplane. [Elbit and Elta being involved] is not an option," he says.

Israel has asked for the right to install its own electronic warfare, radar, munitions and command and control systems into the aircraft while citing special IAF operational requirements.

In the past, officials said, before announcing a decision to purchase an aircraft the MOD first negotiated the installation of Israeli-made systems and then announced that it had made a decision. This, officials said, was the case with the F-15I and the F-16I.

However in the case of the JSF, the US refused to conduct the negotiations with the MOD until an announcement that it would procure the plane had been made. The announcement was made in October in an official request to the Pentagon.

A defense industry source familiar with the negotiations between Israel and the US said that the talks were "tough" but predicted that a deal would be reached in the coming months and that Israel would finally place an official order.

Last week, the Post reported that each plane would cost Israel over $100 million and not the estimated $50-$60 million that Lockheed Martin had initially claimed it would cost.

Defense sources said that the cost would make it very difficult for Israel to see through with its initial intention to purchase 75 aircraft. He said that if not for operational considerations, the IDF would have preferred to wait several years before ordering the aircraft and once the price goes down.

This article can also be read at http://www.jpost.com /servlet/Satellite?cid=1233304788804&pagename=JPArticle%2FShowFull

Israeli radar may track NKorean missiles

Feb. 16, 2009
JPost.com Staff , THE JERUSALEM POST

 

 

Israeli company Elta's Green Pine missile detection radar system.

An Israeli-developed missile detection radar system called Green Pine is a leading candidate in South Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) for the country's independent low-tier missile shield, The Korea Times reported Monday.

"The DAPA concluded negotiations with foreign bidders over the selection of the early-warning radar systems last week and believes the Israeli radar is the most suitable for the country's theater missile shield in terms of price and capabilities," an unnamed source was quoted by the paper as saying.

The Jerusalem Post could not independently confirm the Korea Times report.

If bought, the Green Pine system would become operational in South Korea by 2012. Two sets are scheduled to be bought by 2010.

Competing with Israel's Green Pine system are the US-made X-Band radar and the French M3R radar.

The purchase of the Forward-Based X-Band Radar-Transportable (FBX-T) was impossible due to US law that forbids the export of the state-of-the-art weapons system, while the French radar system failed to meet some operational requirements, the paper quoted sources as saying.

The US allowed one X-Band system to arrive in Israel's Nevatim IAF base in September 2008 and the IDF uses intelligence collected from it. But it is operated by American personnel and can potentially also give the US knowledge of Israeli air traffic, whether civilian or military.

The Green Pine system was developed by the Israeli company Elta, and in the IDF, it is used to guide the Arrow 2 Missile Defense system.

This article can also be read at http://www.jpost.com /servlet/Satellite?cid=1233304794147&pagename=JPArticle%2FShowFull

IDF used Gaza op to perfect Iron Dome

Feb. 16, 2009
Jpost staff and AP , THE JERUSALEM POST

Israel used Operation Cast Lead to help perfect the "Iron Dome" rocket interception system, defense officials said Monday.

Israeli weapons-development teams were posted outside Gaza to track the hundreds of rockets fired by terrorists during the three-week offensive against Hamas.

The data will be used to assist in the construction of the system, which is currently under development, the officials said.

They spoke on condition of anonymity because the system's details remain classified. The Iron Dome, designed to protect Israeli towns from rocket fire, is set to be operational in 2010.

Rockets fired by terror groups like Hamas and Hizbullah have become one of the most potent threats facing Israel, with the majority of the country's population now in range of either Gaza or Lebanon.

Southern Israel has faced rocket fire from Gaza since 2001, while to the north, thousands of rockets from Lebanon were fired during Israel's war against Hizbullah in 2006.

During the Gaza offensive, which ended on January 18, teams collected data on how the homemade rockets and the military-grade Katyushas fired by Gaza terrorists behaved in different weather conditions, as well as how they were picked up by Iron Dome's radar, which is already on-line, the officials said.

With the public clamoring for a solution to the rockets, the Israeli government decided in 2007 to invest more than $200 million to create a high-tech answer. Iron Dome is under development by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd., the government's weapons subsidiary.

The system will work by picking up incoming rockets and firing an interceptor. Iron Dome has been criticized by some experts because of its cost - each interceptor will cost between $30,000 and $40,000 - and because it needs 15 seconds to respond, too long to stop rockets from hitting targets adjacent to Gaza. Iron Dome's first intercept test is slated for the end of 2009.

Several new Israeli combat systems were used in battle for the first time during the Gaza offensive.

Two Namer vehicles, armored personnel carriers based on the Israeli-made Merkava IV tank, were used by Golani Brigade infantrymen, the officials said. The Namer, which is only beginning to enter service, is slated to eventually replace the 1960s-era US M-113 vehicles still used by most Israeli infantry units.

Several Israeli tanks were fitted with the Wind Coat, a new system that detects anti-tank rockets and intercepts them in midair. Though mounted on tanks during the fighting, the system was not actually fired, the officials said.

The Wind Coat was developed after Hizbullah fired advanced Russian-made anti-tank rockets that took a high toll on Israeli armor during the Second Lebanon War. But Hamas fighters lacked Hizbullah's arsenal and largely avoided head-on confrontations with IDF forces.

No Israeli armored vehicles were destroyed during the recent round of violence in Gaza.

This article can also be read at http://www.jpost.com /servlet/Satellite?cid=1233304796715&pagename=JPArticle%2FShowFull