Israeli's Stabbed Georgia In The Back, Helped The Russians To Hack Georgian Drones

A swap deal between Russia and Israel in 2008 provided the Russian military with secret codes for Georgian drones, while Jerusalem obtained access to information on Iranian missile systems, according to fresh publications by Wikileaks.

Georgia purchases its unmanned aerial vehicles from Israel, which later gave Moscow the "data link" code in exchange for codes for Tor-M1 missile complexes that Russia sold to Iran, said a leaked letter attributed to Stratfor private intelligence company.

Whistleblowing site Wikileaks announced on Sunday that it started to publish some five million emails by Stratfor, or Strategic Forecasting Inc., a Texas-based intelligence company founded in 1996 and attested by media as the “shadow CIA.”

Stratfor said that at least some emails could be authentic, but did not elaborate. The company’s website was hacked in 2011 by a group of politicized hackers known as the Anonymous.

Stratfor’s alleged email on the Russian-Israeli swap cited an unnamed source described as a “former Mexican cop, Latam military analyst.” Georgia tried to purchase new drones from a private defense contractor in Mexico in hopes of replacing those compromised in July 2008, a month before its five-day war with Russia over the breakaway province of South Ossetia, in which Russia emerged victorious.

Georgian officials also sought to purchase additional ammunition and helicopters, but the deal fell through because the supplier, Idra, was “advised that it would raise a lot of political complications between Mexico and Russia,” the source said.

“The Georgians were pretty much looking for anyone who would sell to them and were willing to pay top dollar,” the letter said, adding in parantheses: "(This shows how frantic the Georgians were in July knowing that war is coming.)"

Tbilisi later tried to sell the compromised drones to neighboring Azerbaijan, but it remains unclear whether the deal was completed, the source said.

No governments implicated in the deal have commented on the leak as of Wednesday afternoon.

Stratfor’s alleged emails disclosed earlier also named Russian Prosecutor General Yury Chaika as an informant of the company, saying he supplied it with data on turf wars in the Kremlin. Chaika’s office dismissed the report as “provocation.”

Tel Aviv To Deploy Iron Dome

The Israeli military will deploy a battery of rocket interceptors from its “Iron Dome” system in the Tel Aviv region on Feb. 20, a military spokesman said Feb. 19.

“Iron Dome is being incorporated into the heart of the Israeli military. As part of this process, the system is deployed in different sites and will be in the Gush Dan region (of Tel Aviv) in the coming days,” he said in a statement that clarified the deployment would begin Feb. 20.

This deployment “is part of the annual training plan for this system”, he added.

The decision to site an Iron Dome battery at Tel Aviv comes amid heightened regional tensions and speculation about a possible Israeli attack targeting Iran’s controversial nuclear program.

Israel has denied that a decision has been taken to launch a pre-emptive strike on Iranian nuclear facilities.

The first battery of the unique multi-million-dollar Iron Dome system was deployed last March 27 outside the southern desert city of Beersheva, after it was hit by Grad rockets fired by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip. On April 4, the system was also deployed around the southern port city of Ashkelon.

The first of its kind in the world and still at the experimental stage, it is not yet able to provide complete protection, but it has successfully brought down several rockets fired from Gaza.

Designed to intercept rockets and artillery shells fired from a range of between 4 kilometers and 70 kilometers (3 miles and 45 miles), Iron Dome is part of an ambitious multi-layered defense program to protect Israeli towns and cities.

Two other systems make up the program — the Arrow long-range ballistic missile defense system and the so-called David’s Sling, or Magic Wand, system, intended to counter medium-range missiles.

India Welcomes Israeli Air Force Chief

Even though Israel is looking for military solution to end Iran's ambition for nuclear weapon and India is looking for a diplomatic way out, yet India and Israel continue to silently expand their already expansive ties in the fields of defence and homeland security.

Israeli Air Force commander-in-chief, Major-General Ido Nehushtan, is the latest in the series of high-level visits to India, which are kept under the radar due to political sensitivities, to further bolster the "bilateral strategic partnership''. This comes close on the heels of the visit by Israeli Minister of public safety to expand counter-terrorism and intelligence sharing mechanism with India.

Maj-Gen Nehushtan, on his part, discussed military cooperation with IAF chief Air Chief Marshal N A K Browne on Monday, and is slated to meet his naval and army counterparts and other MoD officials on Tuesday.

Interestingly, India is all set to order another two advanced Israeli Phalcon AWACS (airborne warning and control systems), capable of detecting hostile aircraft, cruise missiles and other incoming aerial threats far before ground-based radars, at a cost of over $800 million.

Israel has steadily become the second-largest defence supplier to India after Russia. Recently it has bagged many big ticket orders. Most of the UAV's and drones used by the Indians are being supplied by the Israeli's. If total is calculated then Israel easily sells more than !billion worth of defense goods to India every year. As reported earlier DRDO and IAI are going to field Barak 8 pretty soon too. Plus Israel is very wary of Pakistani nukes too, it believes that Pakistan is the main black marketeer of nuclear weapons. It has urged India many times in the past to take decisive action against Pakistan.

Short Bio of Israeli Air Chief

"Major General Ido Nehushtan, the sixteenth Commander in Chief of the Israeli Air Force, enlisted in the IDF in July 1975. He volunteered for pilot training, and graduated as a combat pilot with honors. Following the course, he served as a pilot in a Skyhawk Squadron, and in 1978 he was transferred to fly Phantom aircraft, in the "Knights of the Orange Tail" Squadron.


In 1979, he was appointed as a Flight School instructor, and was a member of the school's aerobatic staff.


In 1983, he was retrained to fly the F-16 "Netz" and was placed in the "Negev" Squadron, where he became second-in-command.


In 1989, Nehushtan was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel, and was appointed as commander of the "Golden Eagle" Squadron. In 1991 he commanded the "Scorpion" Squadron.


In 1993, he was appointed as head of the Armament Branch of the Weaponry Department in IAF headquarters, and in 1994 he was promoted to the rank of colonel and appointed head of the IAF Planning and Organization Department. In 1997 he was appointed commander of the Hatzor Airbase.


In 2000, he was promoted to the rank of brigadier general, and appointed head of the Intelligence Group, in 2002 he was appointed head of the Air Group and in 2004 he was appointed head of Air Force Headquarters.


In August 2006 Nehushtan was promoted to the rank of major general and served as head of Planning Directorate in IDF General Headquarters.


In May 2008 he was appointed Commander in Chief of the Israeli Air Force.


Major General Nehushtan graduated with honours from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where he studied Mathematics and Computer Science and earned an MBA from the Kellogg-Recanati International Executive MBA Program, a joint program of Tel Aviv University, and Northwestern University, Chicago. He is also a graduate of Harvard University's Advanced Management Program."

U.S.A Concerned Israel Will Not Warn Them Before Iran Attack

U.S. officials are concerned that Israel will not warn them before taking military action against Iran's nuclear facilities, a senior U.S. military official said Friday.

The official, who asked to remain anonymous, told the CNN network that although in the past, U.S. officials thought they would receive warning from Israel if it did take military action against Iran, "now that doesn't seem so ironclad."

The U.S. is "absolutley" concerned that Israel is preparing an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities, and this concern is increasing, CNN reported the official as saying.

The U.S. has increased its “watchfulness” of Iran and Israel over the past few weeks, U.S. Central and European Commands, which watch Iranian and Israeli developments respectively, are “increasingly vigilant” at this time, according to the official, and a second military official who also spoke with CNN.

The military official emphasized that the U.S is concerned about the risk a strike against Iran could pose for American troops in Iraq and in the Persian Gulf, according to the CNN report.

The official also said that the U.S. does not intend to follow a military action against Iran, CNN said.

This past week, reports have surfaced regarding Israeli military action against Iran. A senior Israeli official said Wednesday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak are trying to muster a majority in the cabinet in favor of military action against Iran.

On Friday, President Shimon Peres said that he believes Israel and the world may soon take military action against Iran. His comments followed

As the drumbeat of reports about possible military action against Iran's nuclear facilities intensified, an International Atomic Energy Agency report, to be released next week is expected to reveal intelligence suggesting Iran made computer models of a nuclear warhead and other previously undisclosed details on alleged secret work by Tehran on nuclear arms, diplomats told The Associated Press on Friday.

U.K.And Israel May Be Preparing For Military Strike On Iran's Nuclear Facilities

U.K. is stepping up its preparations for a military strike on Iran, the Guardian newspaper reported on Wednesday. According to the report, the U.K. is increasingly concerned over Tehran's nuclear program, and is preparing to deploy Royal Navy ships in the coming months to assist a possible U.S. attack on key facilities in Iran.

The paper cited senior officials who said they believed Iran had regained its technological capabilities which were severely damaged in a cyber-attack last year. Iran said the Stuxnet worm infected personal computers of employees at the Bushehr plant, but not the plant's main systems. The New York Times reported last January that the worm was a joint Israeli-U.S. effort to undermine Iran's nuclear ambitions.

Iran's military chief warned Wednesday that an Israeli attack on Iran's nuclear development sites will come at a heavy price, according to the Iranian ISNA news agency.

Responding to reports that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been trying to gain a majority in the cabinet for an attack on Iran, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff of Iran's armed forces, Hassan Firouzabadi, warned both Israel and the U.S. against such a move.

"The U.S. officials know that the Zionist regime's military attack against Iran will inflict heavy damages to the U.S. seriously as well as the Zionist regime," ISNA quoted Firouzabadi.

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland commented on the possible Israeli strike against Iran on Wednesday, saying "I'm not going to comment on stray press reports out of Israel. I'm going to send you to the Israeli government for its views on these things.”

“We remain committed to Israel's security. We and Israel share a deep concern about the direction that Iran is taking,” she added.

“We continue to work with Israel, with the international community to speak clearly with regard to Iran's nuclear obligations. And you know where we are on this, that Iran has got to take the necessary steps established by the international community to come back into compliance with its obligations. We are focused with Israel; we are focused with our other international partners on getting Iran to comply with the IAEA, to increase the international pressure for Iran to comply. And that's the focus of our activity," she said.

A disagreement within the Israeli government over whether to attack Iran's nuclear facilities has sparked a political catfight between two members of the "octet" forum of eight senior ministers: Vice Prime Minister Moshe Ya'alon and Defense Minister Ehud Barak. Associates of Ya'alon charge that Barak is behind the recent spate of media reports about the octet's deliberations on Iran, while Barak's associates charge that Ya'alon's judgment is becoming unbalanced.

One minister who belongs to the octet said that, at the forum's meetings, Ya'alon and Barak presented diametrically opposed views: Barak supported an Israeli military strike on Iran and said it should take place as soon as possible, while Ya'alon argued that Israel should give international sanctions on Iran more time, and that if military action did become necessary, it would be better for America to do it. Under no circumstances should Israel conduct such an operation on its own, Ya'alon said.

The tension between Barak and Ya'alon has been exacerbated by a string of media reports over the last week concerning efforts by Barak and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to muster a majority in the octet for attacking Iran. This tension was already high due to several substantive policy disagreements - not only on Iran, but also on relations with Turkey and the Palestinians. Moreover, there is lingering bad feeling because when the government was first established in 2009, Ya'alon had expected Netanyahu to make him defense minister.

In recent days, Ya'alon and his associates have voiced scathing criticism of Barak in closed forums, even accusing him of being behind the media reports on the possibility of Israel attacking Iran. Barak, according to their claims, briefed journalists on the matter and tried to convince them that such a strike was necessary.

Ya'alon's associates also claim that even though Barak acts as if he supports military action against Iran, in reality, he opposes it. His statements in favor of military action are aimed merely at shoring up his position as one of Netanyahu's closest allies, they charge.

"For Netanyahu, the Iranian issue is the most important thing," said an associate of Ya'alon. "Barak knows this, and therefore he expresses support for military action in order to bolster his status within the government in Netanyahu's eyes. It's all spin."

Barak's associates reacted furiously to these charges and promptly counterattacked.

"Minister Ya'alon's frustrations are unbalancing his mind and his judgment," said one. "He who once warned of vipers in the Kirya [Defense Ministry headquarters] should be told: 'You see the mote in your brother's eye, but not the beam in your own.' Minister Ya'alon ought to behave responsibly, like ministers [Benny] Begin and [Dan] Meridor."

It is important to note that the drills and tests of recent days, and those expected to take place in the coming days, were all planned months ago.

The test-firing of a ballistic missile on Wednesday at the Palmahim Israel Defense Forces base in central Israel would not have been possible without a long and complex process of serious planning and rigorous safety standards; The joint drill with the Italian Air Force last week over Sardinia could not have occurred without extensive pre-planning with the Italians. The drill planned for Thursday in Holon, simulating a rocket attack on Gush Dan, was scheduled a long time ago by the Home Front Command.

However, one cannot ignore the proximity of these events, together with the continuing operational work on the Iron Dome systems in Gaza and in northern Israel, the acceleration of the Magic Wand and Arrow 3 defense systems – and naturally the public discourse over the last few days concerning the possibility of a strike on Iran.

All these elements – with differing degrees of planning - provide the background music in a concert of a military apparatus preparing for a possible large-scale operation. Even if the decision to attack Iran has not yet been made, and despite opposition by senior security officials, the IDF's task – and that of the rest of the security and intelligence bodies – is to provide the decision-making level with the maximum number of operational options and the offensive and defensive options.

The speed in which events are unfolding, and the advancement of the IDF and military industries' development and training programs, often result in such a combination – drills simulating long-range attacks and drills simulating missile attacks on population centers. Such coincidences have occurred quite often in the past, and they will happen again in the future.

Israel India Relationship Was Better Under BJP : ISRAEL

Lamenting the lack of high-level visits from India under the UPA government, senior officials at the Israeli foreign ministry told US diplomats that it was "better under the Bhartiya Janata Party government", according to a classified US diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks.

Despite burgeoning defence and trade ties, "Israel is concerned about the lack of high-level visits and other exchanges with India. The last visit by an Indian Foreign Minister was in 2000, with a November 2007 visit called off at the last minute," deputy Director general for Asia and Pacific at Israel's foreign ministry Ruth Kahanoff told US diplomats.

"Kahanoff believes that India is restrained in the relationship (with Israel) by its large Muslim population, their concern about relations with the Arab world, and lingering elements of the Non-Aligned Movement/Nehru ideology," the US embassy cable revealed by WikiLeaks said.

Giora Bacher, Director at Israel's foreign ministry Asia and Pacific Desk, also attending the meeting, added that the "visits were actually better under the Bharatiya Janata Party government".

Kahanov also pointed out to US political counsellor Marc Sievers and others present during the December 2007 meeting that former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon visited India in 2003, but no Indian Prime Minister has ever come to Israel.

He also complained about Indian Vice President Hamid Ansari giving a speech attacking Israel, which she saw "as a sign that India is still trying to find its place in the world".

Bacher told US officials that her country's current relationship with India is dominated by defence cooperation and other trade.

The Israeli official noted that initially 95 per cent of the bilateral trade between the two countries was in diamonds, but it is now down to 70 per cent, and there is significant investment in real estate and businesses on both sides as both the countries' economy continue to liberalise.

Kahanoff also stressed on the opening of a branch of the State Bank of India in Israel to support its investors.

(source PTI)

Israel Complains To The UN About Syrian Border Provocation

The Israeli delegation to the United Nations has dispatched a complaint letter to the UN chief and the president of the UN Security Council condemning Syria's "dangerous provocations" on its border with Israel on Sunday.

Haim Waxman, the deputy chief of Israel's delegation to the UN, stressed in his letter that the Syrian government bears the responsibility for any harm caused to the individuals who tried to breach the disengagement line with Israel on Naksa Day, the anniversary of Israel's victory in the 1967 war.

Waxman emphasized that the IDF acted with restraint while handling the protesters and that Israel had repeatedly alerted all parties regarding the "explosive potential of protests planned for June 5 2011."

"Despite these clear warnings, Syria did not prevent demonstrators from arriving at the disengagement line and attempting to cross it," he said.

"To the contrary, this incident — which could not have taken place without the knowledge of the Syrian authorities — reflects a blatant attempt by Syria to distract international attention from the violent repression of its own people."

He urged the international community to convey a message to Syria that "such provocations carry serious potential for escalation and must cease completely."

The IDF said Monday that since all the casualties on Naksa Day were on the Syrian side of the border it was unable to provide an exact count, but it expressed great skepticism about the Syrian figures. Soldiers fired "with precision" at the bottom half of the bodies of the protesters, the army said.

Many, if not most, of the casualties occurred when a brush fire, apparently ignited by Molotov cocktails hurled by the demonstrators, set off antitank mines along the border near Quneitra at about 5 P.M.

The army also accused the Syrian government of creating a deliberate provocation in an effort to divert world attention from its ongoing bloody repression of pro-democracy protests at home.

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay on Tuesday expressed concerns over Israeli forces' use of live ammunition against protesters along the cease-fire line between the occupied Golan Heights and Syria, as well as reports that Syrian authorities encouraged the civilians to protest in an area where landmines had been planted.

The U.N. High Commissioner, however, stressed that Israel "has a duty to ensure that its security personnel avoid the use of excessive force," and urged Israel "to comply with its obligations under international human rights and international humanitarian law to ensure the protection of civilians," the U.N. agency said in a statement issued Tuesday from its Geneva, Switzerland office.

"However difficult the circumstances, the use of live ammunition against allegedly unarmed protesters, resulting in large numbers of deaths and injuries, inevitably raises the question of unnecessary and excessive use of force," Pillay said in the statement.
Pillay also admonished Syria, saying authorities "have an obligation to ensure that civilians are prevented from entering areas where landmines are planted."
(source www.haaretz.com and CNN.com)

Expulsion Of Israel's Military Attaché From Russia Gets Even More Confusing

Israel's Foreign Ministry and Israeli defense force are at odds about the actual reason for the expulsion of Col. Vadim Leiderman.

While the foreign ministry maintains the the Colonel himself was responsible for being thrown out by the Russians for conduct unbecoming of a diplomat, the IDF maintains that this was a action taken by the Russians to send Israel a message.

It has been revealed that this Colonel Leiderman was a repeat offender, he was warned thrice by the Russian government to watch his actions but he did not listen. Basically the Russians claimed that he gathered intelligence on Moscow's arms trading with Arab states and was also overly aggressive in promoting the interests of Israel's military industries in the Russian market.

Foreign ministry official clearly state that the rules governing the conduct of foreign diplomats are well laid out and the same for each and every diplomat thus Colonel Leiderman should have been more watchful.

Another fact that has come out of all this is that the three warnings which he received from Moscow was not reported by the embassy to Tel-Aviv. Only short messages were sent which did not give any indication of the seriousness of the issue. If Tel-Aviv had known earlier they might have recalled him without this situation blowing up.

IDF maintains a completely opposite stand to that of the Foreign Ministry, it believes that the Russians were not clear in their communique and the embassy officials did not properly brief Colonel Leiderman thus he was completely unaware of the concerns of the Russian.

Leiderman was detained for questioning in Moscow by the Russian security services on May 12th.The Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed that Israel's military attaché to Moscow Col. Vadim Leiderman was caught receiving secret information from a Russian citizen on May 12th and subsequently expelled from the country, Russian news agency Novosti reported.
Leiderman was declared persona non grata "in connection with activity incompatible with his diplomatic status" and ordered to leave Russia "within 48 hours, which he did," the Russian Foreign Ministry stated.

Israel Forced To Open Fires On Golan Height

Syrian government in a desperate attempt to deflect attention of its public from the human right violation and the democracy demand of the public has orchestrated another drama on Golan heights. Unfortunately that stage managed drama turned violent when thousand of Syrian protester tried to break into the Israeli controlled Golan Heights and in response Israeli troops were forced to open fire in self defense.

It is reported that 6 people died in the firing and more than dozen may have received some sort of bullet injuries but it was quite clear that this was not a spontaneous agitation done by local population, it has more to do with the intense pressure Syrian government is under.

Israel has rightly called on Syria to show some restraint because this has happened twice in a month's time coinciding with the spike in violence inside Syria.Last time when Israel showed restrain thousand of pro-Palestinian supporter broke into Israel controlled Golan heights and it resulted in a situation where extra troops had to be mobilized.

Such kind of action was expected owing to the fact that it was the 44th anniversary of the 6 day war and Syria has not forgotten the humiliation it suffered at the hands of the Israeli forces then.Palestinian call it the Naksa Day, when Palestinians and Arabs commemorate the defeat to Israel in the 1967 Six-Day war. The conflict resulted in Israel’s occupation of swaths of Arab territory, including the Golan Heights, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank with East Jerusalem.
To be honest this kind of posturing and shadow boxing does not help anybody instead it gives Israeli right wing a chance to harden its stand.

There were also riots in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, with reports of several injuries among the Palestinian protesters there. A large demonstration along the Lebanese-Israeli border was cancelled, after the Lebanese authorities banned protesters from entering the sensitive frontier region.

In past years, Naksa Day has been a largely low-key affair. However, encouraged by the wave of political unrest sweeping the Arab world this year, pro-Palestinian activists had called for marches and demonstrations in many parts of the region.

Earlier Protests Video

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Israel to Buy 4 More Iron Dome Systems with US Aid

The U.S. is funding the production of four more batteries of Iron Dome missile systems, to assist Israel in defending against short-range anti-rocket attacks from Gaza and South Lebanon. According to the director of the U.S. Missile defense Agency, Army Lieutenant General Patrick O’Reilly, speaking to the the US Senate Appropriations Defense subcommittee, the proposed MDA budget includes funding for the procurement of four more batteries.

O’Reilly was referring to fiscal 2011 funding of $203.8 million added last June at the request of President Barack Obama. This funding was first direct US investment in the production phase of the project. Two Iron Dome units are currently deployed in the Southern area of Israel, near the Gaza strip. The combat tested system demonstrated its capability on April 7, 2011 intercepting eight rockets fired at the city of Ashkelon and Ashdod, during a recent series of hostilities between the Palestinians and Israelis. Over 50 rockets were fired at Israel through these engagements, most of them fell outside populated areas. Iron Dome’s battle management system tracked each of the rockets, determining which rocket could pose a threat and which provides low collateral risk that did not justify an intercept. the system also tacked back each of the launching points, assisting IDF suppression attacks.

The Israel Air Force is standing up the third Iron Dome unit, which is expected to become operational by year’s end. Three additional units are scheduled to deploy with the systems by the end of 2012, enabling the IAF to position defensive systems in the northern sector, along the Lebanese border and southern Israel while additionally protecting its air bases from missile and rocket attacks. Rafael is currently modifying the system to be truck mounted, thus becoming more responsive, capable of redeploying quickly between different positions. The truck mounted configuration will be unveiled at the Paris Air Show next month.

Weapons Used By Israel Against Hamas During Operation Cast Lead

During the Operation Cast Lead(OCL) which was launched by Israeli Defense Force(IDF) against the Palestinian militant group Hamas, it used a wide variety of weapons. Some were pretty standard but others quite controversial.

Depending on which side of the divide you stand , these weapons may look a bit overkill,cruel and inhuman or effective,necessary and normal. Some of these armaments are very rarely used in civilian area specially one which is as densely populated as Gaza. Eg. White Phosphorus,Flechette Round, Depleted Uranium, Dense Inert Metal Explosives(highly cancerous), CARPET etc.

In some cases Israel has denied ever using such weapons but most of these uses are well documented with graphic evidence and witness testimony.

Here we present a document produced by Institute Of Palestine Studies which in goes into the details of the weapons used during OCL, their uses and effects both long term as well as short term.


THE ISRAELI ARSENAL DEPLOYED AGAINST GAZA DURING OPERATION CAST LEAD

Hard Lessons Learnt By Israeli Defense Force In Lebanon War

Link to the original document. All copyright belongs to RAND

Israel's disappointing performance in its war against Hezbollah in Lebanon in 2006 did not reflect a "failure of air power," but rather a failure of Israel's political and military leaders to properly assess the enemy, set achievable goals, apply an effective strategy and adequately manage public expectations, according to a RAND Corporation study issued today.

Researchers found that Israel learned from its mistakes and conducted a more successful campaign when battling Hamas in the Gaza Strip in December 2008 and January 2009.

"What ultimately failed in the planning and conduct of the campaign against Hezbollah was not Israeli air power or any other instrument of warfare," said Benjamin Lambeth, author of the study and a senior defense analyst at RAND, a nonprofit research organization. "It was a consequential blend of ill-advised civilian and military leadership decisions about the nature of the adversary, the campaign's initial goals and the desire to avoid a military occupation in southern Lebanon."

From July 12, 2006, until Aug. 15, 2006, the Israeli Defense Forces waged a 34-day campaign in Lebanon against the radical Islamist terrorist organization Hezbollah, in response to a surprise incursion by Hezbollah combatants into northern Israel and their abduction of two Israeli soldiers.

Israel's response, code named Operation Change of Direction, included what the study describes as the most complex air offensive ever conducted by the Israeli Air Force. Ehud Olmert, then Israel's prime minister, declared at the time that the government's goals were the unconditional return of the two kidnapped soldiers and a permanent removal of Hezbollah as a viable fighting force in southern Lebanon.

When the conflict ended following a mutually agreed cease-fire, those unrealistic goals remained unmet, and the Israeli Defense Forces proved unable at any time to stem the daily barrage of rockets that Hezbollah fired into civilian population centers in northern Israel, according to the study. Well before the crisis erupted, the commander of the Israeli Air Force had warned government leaders that preventing the launching of well-hidden rockets was beyond the capacity of Israel's air assets alone.

Lambeth finds that although the Israeli Defense Forces had a fully developed contingency plan for a joint air-ground counteroffensive that might have offered real promise in response to Hezbollah's provocation, Israel's leaders were unwilling to countenance the high friendly casualty rate that such action would almost surely have generated. As such, leaders chose to avoid a repeat of the sort of massive ground invasion that Israel launched into Lebanon in 1982.

Moreover, the Israeli Defense Forces had conducted virtually no periodic large-scale training of its ground troops for major combat in recent years, leaving Israel's ground commanders with little incentive to fight a robust Hezbollah. When the Israel government finally committed ground troops to action in large numbers during the last three days of the conflict, the performance of those troops was poorly coordinated with supporting air operations. Furthermore, Hezbollah's well-dug-in defenses proved more difficult to defeat than expected.

"For the most part, in those mission areas in which it naturally excelled, the Israeli Air Force performed to its usual high standards of competence throughout the engagement," Lambeth said. "The government's greatest misstep was taking an overly unreflective view of what military power of any kind, unaided by a coherent and effective strategy, could accomplish when the declared goals were so ambitious and the Israeli Defense Forces' ground troops were so unready. That misstep had nothing to do with the strengths or limitations of air power."

The study, "Air Operations in Israel's War Against Hezbollah: Learning from Lebanon and Getting It Right in Gaza," can be found at www.rand.org. It was sponsored by the director of operational planning, policy, and strategy, headquarters U.S. Air Force, and was conducted by RAND Project AIR FORCE, a federally funded research and development center for studies and analysis aimed at providing independent policy alternatives for the U.S. Air Force.

DRDO on Course to Integrate Barak-8 on the First Vessel in 2012

DRDO will be test firing Barak 8 missile this year.

“Testing will be conducted in India and is part of the responsibilities of our strategic partner in this program, India’s Defense Research & Development Organization (DRDO)” IAI(Israel Aerospace Industries) officials informed us. The missile is on schedule to complete development and be integrated on board the first combat vessels by 2012.

After being inducted into service, the system will continue development and phased improvement, toward its full operational capability phase. Barak 8 is designed to be fielded on both Israel and Indian Navy vessels.

In 2006 Israel and India embarked on a strategic cooperation in developing a new naval air defense system that will address the specific, common requirements of both Israel and Indian navies. The system, known as Barak-8 introduces a revolutionary concept of ‘network-centric air defense’, incorporating the best technologies India and Israel could offer.

Such technologies include superior missile interceptors, the latest technology phased array radars, state-of-the-art command, control and communications, integrated with missionized land-based and airborne command and control, coupled with unmanned aerial sensors.

Three years ago the program expanded this concept, adding another dimension to the Indo-Israeli cooperation, embarking on the Medium-Range Surface-to-Air missile (MRSAM) system, protecting strategic targets on land. Both programs are progressing well as IAI’s partners in India are actively involved and taking part in every phase of the development.

IAI has kept the missile specs under wrap but somethings that I have been able to glean from their publication is given below
Barak 8 is a multi-tasking missile it intends to provide a solution for all kind of threats which include choppers, UAV's, fighters and missiles. Barak 8 batteries have integrated very advanced radars thus giving them the nickname of smart interceptors. Each battery has its own mobile command and control van. The Radar itself works on 360 degree angle thus providing a shield in all directions.

The fun part of this system is its inbuilt intelligence. As mentioned above it believes in network centric defense thus the Command and Control of each battery can communicate with other batteries, other air defense radar's thus accumulating as much information as it can to decide how best to react to the threat. So if One battery has detected the threat then it will not be surprising that some other battery responds based on the optimized result scenario calculated by the system.It should be noted that the advanced, digital, phased-array radar was specifically developed by IAI Elta Systems, Ltd.Building on the network centric approach the missile once launched is fed continuously data about the target and it decides itself as the best way to intercept the target.

The unique missile propulsion system allows the missile to maintain energy, even after it has been airborne for an extended time, and reserve sufficient energy for the end-game or the target’s final engagement and hit. It must be remembered that the enemy missile is also trying to maneuver and evade the Barak-8.

As we all know a single battery or individual batteries cannot take on 10-20 missiles fired simultaneously at you but due to this network centric approach of the system it creates a web of batteries thus making it possible to engage multiple targets by dividing the work among these batteries in the web. Let us imagine a scenario of a big wave fighter aircrafts moving towards you and one of your mobile radars in this system detects them, on its own it will be impossible for the battery to stop these planes but the data is immediately fed to all the other systems. the communication is through secured data link. Once this is done the system allocates different targets to different batteries in the network within the range

Similarly, land-based versions of the Barak-8 system can be easily and quickly deployed across tens of kilometers between the individually deployed batteries, and provide 360° coverage over the widest possible protected area against cruise missiles, airborne munitions launched from planes or ships, and other threats.

It’s in its final stages of development, to be completed in 2011-2012.

Barak Missile To Be Tested By India This Year

The first test flight of the Indo-Israeli long-range, surface-to-air missile (LR-SAM), also called Barak-2, will be undertaken this year, says a senior official at India’s defense research agency.

The Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO), the prime developer of the project, says the missile, at an estimated cost of 26.06 billion rupees ($581 million), has reached its final stage. “We expect to carry out the test flight soon,” the official adds. The test flight of Barak-2 will be one of 11 missile tests scheduled by DRDO this year. It had been expected last year. According to the DRDO official, more than 70% of the content in the missile will be indigenous.

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), the key partner of the program, says the missile is designed to be used as a point-defense system on warships, defending against aircraft, anti-ship missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles. The missile can hit targets at a range of 70-100 km (37-62 mi.).

The first test of the missile was held in Israel last May. The LR-SAM will equip the three guided missile destroyers of the Project 15A class, which are likely to join the Indian navy in 2012.

IAI officials say the missiles, which are mounted in an eight-cell container and are launched straight up, are undergoing simulated tests in Israel. The radar system provides a 360-deg. coverage, and the missiles can take down an incoming target as close as 500 meters (1,640 ft.) from the ship.

Along with the indigenously built Akash SAM (Aerospace DAILY, March 28), the LR-SAM fills a longer-range requirement of the Indian defense system, and both types will complement each other.

A second variant, called the Medium-Range SAM (MR-SAM), is also being developed for the Indian air force (IAF) at a cost of about 100 billion rupees. The project, signed in 2009, is expected to replace all the IAF’s aging Soviet-made Pechora SAM missiles.

A high-level defense team from Israel visited New Delhi two weeks ago and had detailed discussions with senior military and DRDO officials on the missile program. Israel has become one of the top defense suppliers to India, after Russia. Indo-Israel defense cooperation underwent a strategic shift recently when New Delhi decided to spend a major chunk of its defense budget on purchases from Israel.