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FreeRepublic , LLC PO BOX 9771 FRESNO, CA 93794
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Posted on 10/08/2002 7:38:00 AM PDT by Stand Watch Listen
After feverish efforts, Israel's second Arrow antiballistic missile battery, is now fully deployed and operational at Ein Shemer, near Hadera.The battery's readiness requires the Golden Etrog command center and the Green Pine radar systems to be fully operational in order to provide a missile shield to the densely populated center and North.
The Ein Shemer battery will complement the functional Arrow battery at the Palmahim air force base north of Ashdod.
The radar system and missiles were recently moved into position at the site, said sources in Tel Aviv.
The system, which cost almost $2 billion to develop half of which was provided by the US has been tested more than nine times, with a generally favorable success rate. While the future test will likely be the most highly anticipated, the last test was considered a great success. Late last August, the Arrow successfully intercepted and destroyed a dummy missile launched from an F-15 fighter at a high altitude about 100 kilometers off the coast.
While the IAF has redoubled efforts to make the Ein Shemer battery fully operational, development has been slowed due to opposition from residents from the nearby kibbutz, who fear possible radiation hazards from the powerful Green Pine radar system.
In August 2000, the kibbutz and the military reached a compromise, mediated by former Labor MK Hagai Merom, whereby the system's missiles and radar will be stored elsewhere in times of peace, and would be rushed to the site only in times of emergency. Apparently, last week began the start of an emergency period, as the new battery was put in place.
Israel began developing a missile shield in the mid-1980s, inspired by former US president Ronald Reagan's ambitious Strategic Defense Initiative ("Star Wars") project. After Iraq fired 39 Scud missiles at the country during the Gulf War, the government stepped up development.
According to The New York Times, the Ein Shemer and Palmahim batteries will protect much of the country and will overlap in certain areas of the central region, providing better coverage. Funding for a third battery has already been allocated.
The goal of the Arrow is to intercept an enemy missile at high altitude, thus neutralizing the warhead before the missile begins to break apart.
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FreeRepublic , LLC PO BOX 9771 FRESNO, CA 93794
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The system, which cost almost $2 billion to develop half of which was provided by the US has been tested more than nine times, with a generally favorable success rate.Where's our missile shield, damn it.
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