Keyword: iaf
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"Air Force strikes in Gaza" SNIPPET: "IDF retaliates for deadly Qassam attack: Air Force hits several Gaza targets, including metal foundry, smuggling tunnel; Vice PM Shalom says Israel to offer strong response to rocket attack that killed Thai worker Thursday" SNIPPET: "IDF aircraft struck at least four targets in the Gaza Strip on Friday, a day after a rocket fired from the Palestinian enclave killed a Thai worker in Israel, Hamas security officials and witnesses said." SNIPPET: "Israel also sent a letter of complaint to United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who is due to visit Israel at the weekend,...
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Major delays in the production of the fifth-generation stealth F-35 Joint Strike Fighter will likely lead to the postponement of Israel’s procurement plans, which initially set the signing of a contract by the end of March. One top IDF officer told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday that the Defense Ministry was unlikely to sign a letter of agreement (LOA) with the Pentagon before the end of 2010. “Everything now appears to be pushed off by at least a year,” the senior officer said. On Sunday night, IDF Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi flew to Washington for talks with...
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Israeli media reported on Sunday that the Israeli air force has started practicing rapid refueling, the type of which would only be used in a sustained aerial attack on a distant enemy. The process involves Israeli warplanes sent on raids thousands of miles away returning to Israel, landing and refueling without shutting off their engines in order to get back in the air as fast as possible. Naturally, rapid refueling of this type is very risky, since the fuel is being pumped not far from the jet's engines. Revelation that Israel is doing this kind of training came just a...
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In preparation for long-range missions and possible conflict with Iran, the Israel Air Force has expanded its training programs to include rapid refueling operations on runways. It’s a dangerous practice since the aircraft’s engines are running while the fuel nozzle is still connected to the jets. The training is for both pilots and ground crews and it is being done to enable the aircraft to carry as much fuel as possible for long-range missions. Fuel nozzles are traditionally disconnected from fighter aircraft while they are still parked in hangers and before they are rolled out to the runway, where they...
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This week the Israeli Air Force (IAF) held a ceremony spotlighting the "operational acceptance" of its biggest unmanned aerial vehicle, the 4.5-ton Heron TP, or "Eitan." The far-flying UAV, with a wingspan almost as long as a 737 airliner, appeared on the runway with a comparatively diminutive F-15 alongside it. The IAF already rushed this UAV into action during the 2008–'09 war in Gaza, so the ceremony really served as a reminder to Iran that its drone fleets can reach the nation. But how will Israel use them? The Eitan can carry a ton of payload and can reach Iran's...
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The new drone that can remain airborne for more than 24 hours and reach as far as Iran was added Sunday to the Israeli air force's arsenal, the military said. Described by the army as a "technological breakthrough" the Eitan -- which means strong in Hebrew -- is a Heron-TP type drone with a wingspan of 26 metres (85 feet), similar to that of the Boeing 737. It is 24 metres (79 feet) long, weighs 4.5 tonnes and can remain in the air for more than 24 hours, enabling it to fly as far as Iran, Israel's arch-foe. The drone...
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The Israeli Air Force Sunday launched a new unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), dubbed "Eitan," that can stay in the air 24 hours and can reach Iran. During the ceremony, attended by Air Force Commander Major General Ido Nehushtan, the UAV was officially transferred from the Israel Aerospace Industries to the IAF. “The ‘Eitan’ marks a technological breakthrough and a new level in the Air Force's ability to operate against threats, near and far, in its every day missions and during emergencies,” IDF spokesmen said. Military officials at the ceremony declined to say whether the new UAV was designed for use...
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The Israel Air Force on Sunday introduced a fleet of large unmanned planes it claims can fly as far as Iran. Air force officials said the Heron TP drones have a wingspan of 26 meters, making them the size of passenger jets. They said the planes can fly 20 consecutive hours, and are primarily used for surveillance and carrying payloads. The drones, built by state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries, were first used during Israel's Gaza war last year. At an inauguration ceremony Sunday, officials refused to say how large the new fleet is or whether the planes were designed for use...
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Lebanese anti-aircraft guns opened fire on four Israeli fighter planes which were violating its air space and flying at low altitude on Monday, the military said. "The army's anti-aircraft guns fired at four enemy Israeli planes that had been overflying the (southern) area of Marjayoun this morning," an army spokesman said on condition of anonymity. A media correspondent in southern Lebanon said about 70 rounds had targeted four Israeli planes. While Lebanon's army publishes almost daily reports of Israeli violations of Lebanese air space, the military rarely opens fire unless the planes fly within range of its guns. The Israeli...
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The United States expressed readiness to provide Lebanon by 2013 with aircraft designed for light attack, the local daily As Safir reported Friday. The report said the Pentagon has proposed to provide Lebanon with Hawker-Beechcraft AT-6 or Embraer (NYSE:ERJ) Super Tucano planes to improve its capabilities in reconnaissance missions and counter- insurgency operations. Reconnaissance missions and counter- insurgency operations? Hmmm, what kind of counter insurgency operations are they referring to? Lebanon doesn't need weapons to defend itself against Syria. Lebanon and Syria have been on good terms with each other ever since Barack Obama became President. Lebanese Prime Minister, Saad...
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Israel's military has killed a Palestinian identified as an operative aligned with Al Qaida The military said Fares Ahmed Jaber was killed during a gun battle on Feb. 11 in the Gaza Strip. Fares was said to have been killed in an Israel Air Force strike as his squad prepared to attack an Israeli target near the northern Gaza Strip. "Fares Ahmed Jaber, who was killed in the IAF strike while preparing to carry out an attack in the area, was a global jihad operative," a military statement said. The military employs the term "global jihad" to describe Palestinian operatives...
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has developed a new anti-missile missile to deal with long range (up to 200 kilometers) rockets. Their Stunner missile is yet another development of the Israeli Python heat seeking air-to-air missile. Stunner apparently came out of the work to develop the recent Spyder anti-aircraft missile. Spyder is a mobile, short range system using, as many such systems do these days, air-to-air missiles. Spyder launchers (truck mounted, with four box like launch cells each) can carry either the Python 5 heat seeking missile (ten feet long, 231 pounds, with a range of 15 kilometers) or the Derby radar guided missile (11.2...
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Israeli warplanes bombed several sites in southern Gaza overnight in response to rocket fire from the Hamas-run enclave, the army and Palestinian medics said on Wednesday. No one was wounded or killed in the strikes, which destroyed an abandoned building in Gaza's only airport, according to medics. The airport was shut down and largely destroyed after the outbreak of the 2000 Palestinian uprising, or intifada, and has not been used since. The attacks came in response to rocket fire from the impoverished enclave over the past several days, the army said in a statement. The rocket fire did not cause...
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Indian Air Force's multi-role Sukhoi Su-30 MKI fighters could be armed with supersonic cruise missiles by 2012, giving them the capability to strike ground targets from stand-off distance. "The work to adopt the missile for deployment on fighter is being carried out by the Rosoboronexport, the Sukhoi Design Bureau and NPO Mashinostroyeniya (Russian partner in BrahMos JV)," a top official of the aircraft manufacturer has said, adding that the missiles could be mounted on the aircraft in two years. With this, India would get the capability to fire these missiles from land, sea as well as air. BrahMos are already...
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The IAF struck weapons smuggling tunnels along the Philadelphi Corridor, in the southern Gaza Strip. early Wednesday morning The strikes came in response to two barrels containing explosive devices washing ashore on beaches in Ashkelon and Ashdod Monday. Both were destroyed by police sappers. "The IDF will continue to operate with determintation and force against those who use terror against Israel, and hold Hamas responsible [for the attempted attack]," an army statement read.
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A dogfight over software is intensifying as the Pentagon reaffirmed that it will not share with partner countries the sensitive code that controls Lockheed Martin's F-35 radar-evading jet fighter, according to an article published by Reuters. Britain, which funded about $2 billion of the F-35, is among eight countries that co-financed the system. Nonetheless, no country will receive the source code or the vital electronics that control everything from weapons integration to radar to flight dynamics, according to the article. The jet, known as the Joint Strike Fighter, can switch between air-to-ground and air-to-air missions in mid-flight, thanks to some...
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Israel has put an eighth KC-707 aerial refueling aircraft into service. It cost $23 million to convert a Boeing 707 transport into a tanker. Israel introduced the first of these aircraft in 1983, and is in the process of refurbishing the older ones. With these tankers, Israeli F-15s and F-16s can stay in the air longer, and make strikes on distant targets, like Iran. Israel first used the KC-707 to attack Palestinian terrorists, 2,000 kilometers away, in Tunis, Tunisia, in 1985. The U.S. Air Force introduced a similar aircraft, the KC-135, over fifty years ago. All 732 KC-135s were built...
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Israel Bolsters KC-707 Refueling Fleet Jan 14, 2010 By Alon BenDavid Nevatim AB, Israel With the threat of a conflict with Iran looming, the Israeli air force has augmented its fleet of KC-707 (“Re’em”) aerial refueling aircraft with an eighth tanker, bolstering the strike capacity the country would have if it tries to undertake a raid on Teheran’s nuclear facilities. The $23-million contract to reconfigure the aircraft was awarded to Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) in late 2008, as part of a strategic effort to rapidly enhance the country’s long-range strike capabilities. “Many of the air force’s current missions require extended...
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Israel has completed testing its Iron Dome short-range missile defence system, designed to protect the Jewish state from missile attacks by the Lebanese Hezbollah and the Palestinian Hamas. The first Iron Dome battery is expected to be deployed in the country's south in about six weeks. Expected to be operational by May, the Iron Dome system is expected to counter Hamas' improvised rockets, called the Qassam. The system will be operated by the Israeli Air Force. Subsequently, batteries will be deployed in the country's north against the Hezbollah's more varied missile forces. "Making Iron Dome operational will transform Israel's political...
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Israel has completed tests on its Iron Dome anti-missile system, designed to provide a response to the thousands of rockets fired at Israel by Hamas and Hezbollah, the defence ministry said. The system, which can intercept short-range rockets and artillery shells, underwent its final tests in the past 48 hours, a statement said. "For the first time, Iron Dome faced multiple threats simultaneously. All the threats were intercepted with complete success," the statement said. The next phase in the development of the system was to integrate it into the army, the statement said. Israel hopes the system will provide it...
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