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After Brazil and El Salvador, Panama to test Israeli UAV
Nov. 18, 2009
Yaakov Katz , THE JERUSALEM POST
Yaakov Katz , THE JERUSALEM POST
A Heron UAV during a flight demonstration in Brazil.
Photo: IAI Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) is strengthening its position in Central and South America and in the coming year will hold demonstrations of its Heron Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) for Panama security forces.
In May, the IAI-made Heron underwent a month-long evaluation by the United States Southern Command and the Salvadoran military to judge its suitability for counter-drug missions in South America and the Pacific. It was the first time that the drone, designed for intelligence gathering and surveillance, was used in counter-drug operations.
The demonstration in Panama, officials said Tuesday, would also focus on counter-drug operations, as well as border security. Officials said that teams from the Brazilian Police were already in Israel undergoing a course to learn how to use the Heron UAV.
Last week, the Brazilian government announced that it was prepared to sign a $350 million deal to purchase Heron UAVs to patrol its cities and borders and provide security for the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympic Games.
The Heron, which already flies missions in Afghanistan on behalf of the Canadian military and was also recently sold to the German military, is capable of remaining in the air for close to two days straight without refueling. It can fly at an altitude of 30,000 ft, making it a difficult target for standard anti-aircraft weapons. It has the ability to carry a 250 kg payload, while the IAI's smaller Searcher UAV carries only 100 kg.
The Heron has a wingspan of 16.6 meters and weighs 1,200 kg, with an operational range of hundreds of kilometers and the ability to fly in all weather conditions.
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Gaza group offers bounty for IDF troops
Nov. 18, 2009
Associated Press , THE JERUSALEM POST
Associated Press , THE JERUSALEM POST
A Gaza charity linked to Hamas is offering $1.4 million to anybody who captures an Israeli soldier.
The Waad group sent an e-mail on Wednesday calling on people living in Israel to try take soldiers hostage.
The organization, which supports Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, is headed by Hamas' Interior Minister Fathi Hamad. He did not return calls seeking comment.
Waad's director, Usama Kahlout, says the offer is in response to an Israeli group's offer to pay Gazans for information on the whereabouts of captured IDF soldier Gilad Schalit, held by Hamas for more than three years.
German mediators are overseeing negotiations between Israel and Hamas to exchange the soldier for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. 
The IAI Arrow
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'Iron Dome' System Placed on Display
Cheshvan 30, 5770, 17 November 09 08:57
by Yoni Kempinski The IAI Arrow (Israelnationalnews.com) Israel National TV visited the International Aerospace
Conference and Exhibition which took place near the Ben Gurion Airport, and brings you a video presentation of three important defensive technologies: the Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) Arrow, the IAI Barak and Rafael's Iron Dome system.
The Iron Dome system has been in the headlines during the past few years, as it is seen as the ultimate defensive solution for the rocket threat posed by the Hizbullah in the north and the Hamas in the south.
[weJew:6855]
Israel, Germany to discuss missile ships
Nov. 18, 2009
Yaakov Katz , THE JERUSALEM POST
Yaakov Katz , THE JERUSALEM POST
A German defense delegation will arrive in Israel next month for high-level talks to focus on an Israeli request to purchase two Meko-class missile ships.
The delegation will be led by senior officials from the German Defense Ministry and the German Navy. Talks on the Israeli side will be led by Defense Ministry director-general Pinhas Buchris and Navy commander Vice Admiral Eliezer Marom.
While the Navy has yet to finalize its order, it is working on a concept under which the 2,000-ton ship would be designed by the German company Blohm and Voss, which manufactures the Meko family of warships.
The design would be similar to the existing Israeli Sa'ar 5-class ship but would be slightly larger, to enable it to carry the massive IAI-made Adir radar, capable of providing an extensive over-the-horizon radar view. 
The ship will be capable of carrying special forces and larger infantry units as well as midsize vehicles, alongside at least one helicopter. The ship will also be installed with the anti-ship Harpoon Missile, as well as the Barak anti-missile defense system.
Each ship is expected to cost over $300 million, and Israel is hoping that the German government will provide part of the funding, as it has in the past for Israeli submarines.
Germany is currently building two Dolphin-class submarines for Israel, expected to become operational in the next few years.
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Barak: IDF to up Arrow interceptor production
Nov. 17, 2009
Yaakov Katz , THE JERUSALEM POST
Yaakov Katz , THE JERUSALEM POST
An Arrow 2 missile test.
The Defense Ministry plans to significantly increase production of Arrow missile interceptors, capable of intercepting incoming Iranian and Syrian Shihab and Scud missiles, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said on Tuesday.
"We will need to expand our arsenal of Arrow interceptors," Barak said at the International Aerospace Conference near Ben-Gurion Airport.
A top defense official told The Jerusalem Post that Iran is believed to have dozens of operational Shihab ballistic missiles that are capable of reaching Israel. The Israel Air Force says it requires at least double that number of interceptors.
Arrow interceptors are made jointly by Israel Aerospace Industries and by Boeing Co. in Alabama.
The air force is also in the process of upgrading its older Arrow interceptors to the new Arrow 2 missile, which has enhanced avionics and boost systems enabling greater range and altitude.
According to IAF Air Defense chief Brig.-Gen. Doron Gavish, the Iron Dome missile defense system, for use against short-range Kassam and Katyusha rockets, will be deployed along the Gaza border in the middle of 2010.
During the recent Juniper Cobra missile defense exercise with the United States, Gavish said that the militaries also ran simulations that tested the Iron Dome as well as the David's Sling, which is being developed to intercept medium-range rockets.
In January, the Air Defense Division will hold a seminar to review multi-year plans as well as to consider a new name. "We are no longer just about defending Israel against incoming aircraft," said an officer in the unit. "Most of what we do today is with regard to missile defense."
The navy, the Post also learned, is considering installing Arrow missile launchers on the new missile ships it plans to purchase from Germany. When the Arrow was first developed in the 1990s, some of the initial test launches were done from a cargo ship in the Mediterranean Sea.
"If the Arrow is on a ship we would be able to possibly intercept ballistic missiles farther from Israel and closer to the launch," one official said, adding that the concept would be modeled after the US Navy's Aegis missile ships, some of which participated in the recent Juniper Cobra exercise.
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