Free Republic

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - Ted Cruz is decrying a deal brokered by his U.S. Senate colleagues to avert a default and reopen the government - but isn't planning a filibuster to derail it. In a statement Wednesday, Cruz slammed the Senate and Washington in general for not doing more to shield Americans from the nation's new health care law. But he also praised the House for its "bold stance" during the government shutdown and debt-limit fight.

For a man who regards Brussels as the biggest threat to Britain’s freedom since the Second World War, the choice of beer for Nigel Farage was obvious when we met at the Westminster Arms on Friday: Spitfire. It is brewed by Shepherd Neame in Kent to celebrate the Battle of Britain. Farage, a man of Kent, gulped down the first pint in 15 minutes, ordered a ‘reload,’ polishing off his second in another ten; and the moment we stepped outside, he lit up a fag.

The Israel Defense Forces artillery corps revealed the previously classified Tamuz missile for the first time Monday, which was used in the Second Lebanon War and Operation Cast Lead in Gaza. The Tamuz missile has a range of up to 25 kilometers and is equipped with an electro-optic sensor that allows its operators to guide it to its target by watching it on a screen while it hovers to its target.

IAF plans to replace old Hawks with upcoming David’s Sling By YAAKOV KATZ 05/23/2011 02:52 The 50-year-old Hawk is a US-made medium-range surface-to-air that was first supplied to Israel in 1965 and has since served as the main defense system against enemy aircraft. The air force is considering replacing the Hawk surface-toair missile, which been the backbone of the country’s air defense systems since 1965. The MIM-23 Hawk is an American-made medium-range surface-to-air that was first supplied to Israel in 1965 and has since served as the main defense system against enemy aircraft. Its arrival was a significant success for...

Rafael in $1b Indian anti-tank missile deal "Defense News": Rafael will sell the Indian Army 321 Spike launchers, 8,356 missiles, and 15 training simulators, and peripheral equipment. 24 March 11 17:53, Ran Dagoni, Washington "Defense News" reports that the Indian Army is about to order thousands of Spike anti-tank missiles and peripheral equipoment from Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. in a $1 billion deal. Indian Ministry of Defence officials told the magazine that the order is for 321 launchers, 8,356 missiles, and 15 training simulators, and peripheral equipment. Rafael was the only bidder in the tender, which was published in...

Tejas to be fitted with Israeli Derby missile Pact by March with Rafael Advanced Defence Systems to supply missile system for 200 fighters Sridhar K. Chari & Bhargavi Kerur Israel’s Derby missile is the weapon of choice for India’s Tejas fighter. A contract will be signed by March with Rafael Advanced Defence Systems Ltd to supply the air-to-air missile system to be fitted on some 200 jets, said P.S. Subramanya, director of India’s Aeronautical Development Agency, which is developing the light combat aircraft. The Indian Air Force (IAF) has ordered 40 Tejas planes. The aircraft recently obtained restricted initial operational...

Seoul to deploy Israeli guided missiles on Yeonpyeong in Feb Attack copters to be stationed on the island By Jung Sung-ki South Korea’s military plans to deploy Israeli-built precision-guided anti-tank missiles to Yeonpyeong Island next month near the western sea border with North Korea, a government source said Tuesday. The deployment of the GPS-guided “Spike” missile is part of efforts to help achieve an early fortification of Yeonpyeong and four other islands near the border ― Northern Limit Line (NLL) ― vulnerable to North Korean provocations, the source told The Korea Times. In its year-end report to President Lee Myung-bak...

India in talks to buy Iron Dome, David's Sling Indian Ministry of Defence to "Defense News": Procurement of David's Sling or the Iron Dome would be a "pleasure". Ran Dagoni, Washington14 Jul 10 13:19 "Defense News" reports that India is in talks to buy Israel's ground-based rocket and missile interceptor systems Iron Dome and David's Sling. David's Sling, designed to intercept medium-range missiles (70-240 kilometers range), is being developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. and Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN). The system is also n the Ministry of Defense. HomePage Enlarge font Reduce font India in talks to buy Iron...

Israeli defence companies are developing new weapon systems that will be carried by the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighters operated by the nation's air force. Rafael confirms that it is developing smaller versions of its Python-5 short-range and Derby beyond visual-range air-air missiles, to enable the munitions to be carried in the stealth fighter's weapon bays. Israel Military Industries is also developing a new series of internally carried bombs for the F-35. So far, it has only unveiled the MPR-500, which will offer improved penetration and timed detonation. Sharing the configuration of the Mk 82 500lb (226kg) general purpose...

On a dusty, wind-swept field overlooking the Mediterranean, a small team of researchers is putting the final touches on what Israel says is a major game changer in tank defense: a miniature anti-missile system that detects incoming projectiles and shoots them down before they reach the armored vehicles. If successful, the "Trophy" system could radically alter the balance of power if the country goes to war again against Hezbollah guerrillas in neighboring Lebanon or Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip. Its performance could also have much wider implications as American troops and their Western allies battle insurgents in Iraq and...

Israel defense industry sources said state-owned and other Israeli defense firms intend to expand offices and staff in India during 2010. "The Indian government has approved a huge increase in its defense budget for new weapons and systems, and Israeli companies will be first in line for consideration of projects," an industry source said. In March 2010, the Indian Defense Ministry submitted an order of more than $100 million for the Barak point-defense missile system from the state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries. Industry sources said that under the deal the Indian military would receive 400 Barak interceptors. India, which has approved...

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...

Israel has completed testing its Iron Dome anti-rocket system, and has bought seven batteries, to be delivered over the next two years. Each battery has radar and control equipment, and four missile launchers. The first battery will be delivered within six months. Based on how that one does, another will be installed on the Lebanese border next year. Each battery costs about $37 million, which includes over fifty missiles. During tests, the system detected and shot down BM-21 and Kassam rockets. The manufacturer, Rafael, was offered a large bonus if they got the system working ahead of schedule. When Iron...

Days after completing a test of its Iron Dome shield, Israel says it will take years before the Jewish state's new rocket anti-missile system will be fully deployed. The warning was sounded by Defense Minister Ehud Barak who predicted, meantime, that once deployed along his country's borders with Gaza and Lebanon, the Iron Dome system will significantly reduce hostilities from militants. Developed over the last two years at a cost of $200 million by state-owned Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd., the Iron Dome uses small guided missiles to destroy short-range rockets used by Hezbollah and Hamas militants. The system, which...

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...

Israel's new rocket defense system has proven a hit-to-kill capability. Officials said Israel's Iron Dome has achieved the ability to strike incoming short-range missiles and rockets. They said the Iron Dome demonstrated this during its first live fire test in mid-2009. "They met head on," Defense Minister Ehud Barak said. In a Nov. 17 address to the International Aerospace Conference and Exhibition-Israel, Barak said Iron Dome exceeded all expectations. He said the assessment within the Defense Ministry and military had been that the interceptor would explode 10 meters from the incoming missile.

Israel Aerospace Industries has signed a $350 million deal with Brazil to supply Heron unmanned aerial vehicles to patrol the South American nation's borders and provide security for the 2014 World Cup tournament and the 2016 Olympic Games. All told the state-run company, flagship of Israel's defense industry, will provide 14 drones over several years, three of them by April 2010. The deal comes amid a big surge in sales of Israeli UAVs worldwide, particularly with nations providing military forces in Afghanistan where UAVs have become a major component in the war against the Taliban and their jihadist allies. The...

It was named one of Time magazine’s best inventions of 2008, but Raytheon’s Active Protection System (APS), formerly known as “Quick Kill,” was nowhere to be found on the floor of the Washington Convention Center at the Army’s annual conference this week. I asked the Raytheon folks about its status and the best they could come up with was that the program is “maturing”; there was no APS on display nor were there videos showing field tests of the system. By contrast, over at the Israeli Military Industries booth, the Israelis were showing video of their “Iron Fist” APS in...

“The video produced by Israeli has not been received well by the Indian armed forces. The video’s popularity grew phenomenally after it was reported on and posted by StratPost. One Indian Army officer told StratPost, “Is this any way to market arms? Who will buy from you if you do this sort of thing?” An Indian Air Force (IAF) officer said, “While it can be seen as funny - perhaps a humorous parody, it’s likely to hurt the sensitivities of many people. Maybe Rafael should have thought of this before producing something like this.” The video had been viewed 133,161...

The U.S. Navy and Coast Guard have expressed interest in the 30-ft.-long Protector, which comes mounted with a machine gun and could be retrofitted for commercial use. Robots versus pirates -- it's not as stupid, or unlikely, as it sounds. Piracy has exploded in the waters near Somalia, where this past week United States warships have fired on two pirate skiffs, and are currently in pursuit of a hijacked Japanese-owned vessel. At least four other ships in the region remain under pirate control, and the problem appears to be going global: The International Maritime Bureau is tracking a 14-percent increase...