"Raytheon a key in Israeli defense plan; Two deals in works on missile shields" by Bryan Bender | Globe Staff July 17, 2014
WASHINGTON — As Hamas militants continue to fire rockets from the Gaza Strip, Israel’s defense forces are looking to Massachusetts-based Raytheon Co. to take a leading role in producing more antimissile batteries for the country’s crucial Iron Dome defense system.
The Israeli Ministry of Defense is undertaking a final review of a deal with Raytheon for more antimissile batteries. The company is also working with Israeli defense firms on a separate deal for a next-generation shield designed to strike down long-range missiles that may already be in the hands of Hamas as well as the Hezbollah terrorist group in neighboring Lebanon.
The arrangements underscore the increasing role that Waltham-based company’s technologies are playing the Middle East crisis.
That is because they have top salesmen -- who constantly preach for peace?
Israel built its existing “Iron Dome” defense system with the help of US funding and expertise.
U.S. taxpayers are still paying for it. They cover all associated costs of operation.
The system has succeeded in shooting down most of the rockets that have threatened populated areas, but concern about the continuing threat has led Israel to enlist Raytheon’s help to expand its missile defenses.
Seems like we just went through all this.
President Obama, in an appearance Wednesday at the White House, highlighted the US contribution to the Iron Dome system, saying, “Israel has a right to defend itself from rocket attacks that terrorize the Israeli people.”
“There is no country on Earth that can be expected to live under a daily barrage of rockets. And I’m proud that the Iron Dome system that Americans helped Israel develop and fund has saved many Israeli lives,’’ Obama said.
Israel had hoped that its success in shooting down many incoming rockets would convince Hamas to stop its attacks. But Hamas, along with other Palestinian militant groups, rejected a cease-fire proposal earlier this week by Egypt, and Israeli airstrikes on suspected militants and weapons supplies continued Wednesday amid reports that Israel might launch a ground invasion.
However the current standoff unfolds, Israel has placed extraordinary reliance on missile-defense technologies to defend itself and thus is pushing forward with a stronger relationship with Raytheon, which has a long history of designing and building missile defense systems for the Unites States and its allies.
They don't work all that well, but you know.
For Raytheon, the Israeli contracts — part of a “coproduction” deal with Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems — present a potential financial windfall. Much of the work would be done at Raytheon’s Tucson, Ariz., missile systems plant, as well by subcontractors across the country, officials said.
Raytheon’s contracts with Israel would indirectly help the US economy recoup some of the nearly $1 billion in US aid that enabled Israeli designers to develop the Iron Dome system in recent years. The Obama administration requested $175 million for Israel’s Iron Dome in the 2015 budget, and that amount has been doubled by congressional defense committees. The House measure required that much of that money be spent on US components, which is likely to be beneficial to Raytheon.
But Congre$$ ain't under the control of AIPAC or nothing!
Here is what Obummer had for U.S. families: $5 million
Hell, he wants $4 BILLION for illegal immigrant kids he encouraged to come here!
I don't know about you, but I'm getting kind of fed up with this $hit!
Until now, Israel and its defense industry has overseen the manufacturing of the Iron Dome system.
“Israel would like to build as much of Iron Dome as it can, but Raytheon’s expertise in missile defense is greater,” said Loren Thompson, a Washington-based defense consultant who advises some of Raytheon’s competitors. “Raytheon is a key partner in every missile defense system the United States is building. The company’s participation also generates jobs in America as a result of US aid to Israel. So it is beneficial beyond the defense aspect.”
(Blog editor just sighs)
Raytheon declined to officially comment on the pending deal, referring questions to Rafael, the Israeli company, which also declined to comment.
But a Raytheon official who was not authorized to speak publicly said: “It is going to happen. It is a matter of time. I think what is being held up is a ministerial decision out of Israel.”
Separately, the United States and the Persian Gulf nation of Qatar on Monday signed an $11 billion deal — set to be the largest of the year — that Raytheon will share with defense giants Boeing and Lockheed Martin. It includes a series of the company’s missile defense technologies such as the Patriot that are designed to deflect longer-range missiles.
In Israel, the Defense Ministry is relying on eight antimissile batteries to defend the country but says it needs more — up to 15 on alert at all time. As a result, it is preparing to finalize the arrangement so that Rafael, the prime contractor, can begin placing orders with Raytheon for additional batteries, according to US and Israeli officials and analysts.
The Iron Dome system, which relies on an interceptor missile known the Tamir — about 6 inches wide and 10 feet long — has a selective targeting system that tries to deflect only those rockets that are predicted to be on a trajectory that will threaten populated areas. To conserve the Tamir missiles, which are estimated to cost nearly $100,000 apiece, it does not try to intercept rockets that are calculated to be headed toward unpopulated areas.
You American taxpayers can add up the cost as Israel fires them.
Since the conflict began July 8, an estimated 990 rockets have been fired into Israel, including 244 that have been shot down, according to official Israeli statistics. Israeli military operations in Gaza have led to an estimated 205 deaths. One Israeli civilian casualty has been reported as a result of a mortar attack.
That is only the latest round, and casualty does not mean killed.
Still, there have been some questions in recent days about the system’s effectiveness.
What, what, what???
A July 10 article in the MIT Technology Review asserted that while the Hamas rockets are being intercepted by Iron Dome, the system is not detonating the actual warheads as designed, meaning they fall to the ground with the explosives still intact.
Interesting turn of the universe seeing as Israel littered Lebanon with cluster bombs on their way out in 2006.
The United States has allocated nearly $1 billion to the development and purchase of Iron Dome batteries for Israel, but Congress has recently expressed concern that more of those funds were not being spent on US components.
“Given the significant US taxpayer investment in the system, the committee believes that coproduction of parts and components should be done in a manner that will maximize US industry participation,” the House Armed Services Committee wrote in a May report after it added $175 million to the US investment in Iron Dome.
The outlines of the expected arrangement with Raytheon were first described in an April report by the US Missile Defense Agency.
“Under this agreement, the United States focus shifts toward maximizing economic activity in the United States while ensuring that Israel’s security needs are met,” according to the report, first noted by Bloomberg News. “This new agreement strikes a better balance for both parties and should serve as a model for the future.”
I think my government cares more about Israel than us.
Raytheon is also planning later this year to conduct a third test of the so-called Stunner missile, the main component of a more advanced antimissile system that the Israelis are developing called David’s Sling. Two previous tests conducted in Israel in 2012 and 2013 were deemed successful in intercepting more advanced rockets with longer ranges than the militants’ current arsenal. Some of its technology has been included in the eighth Iron Dome battery to be put into service near Tel Aviv, Israel’s largest city, according to Israeli press reports.
That means nothing; those $elf-$erving tests are always rigged.
At this stage, said Thompson, a growing role for Raytheon in defending the Israel is a natural step, noting its experience building a series of land-based and ship-based antimissile systems in recent years.
Yeah, it's an in$tinct you just can't stop!
“Over the last dozen years Raytheon has emerged as dominant player in missile defense,” Thompson said. “It makes most of the missiles, most of the radars, and integrates most of the networks.”
Kind of cornered the market, huh?
--more--"
What I noticed there was HOW SMALL is GAZA!!
UNPOSTED FLASHBACKS:
"Israel developing next missile defense system with Raytheon" by Bryan Bender | Globe Staff, November 24, 2012
WASHINGTON — Israel’s ability to shoot down hundreds of rockets fired by Hamas militants this past week has been hailed as a breakthrough in missile defense. But, military analysts warn, the real challenge is only beginning.
That's a few million for you, U.S. taxpayers.
Unlike the homemade, rudimentary rockets used by Hamas, thousands of sophisticated missiles with greater ranges and payloads are being stockpiled in Lebanon by Hezbollah, another militant group.
Of course, I'm now being told they can take down airplanes!!
Talk about JUMPING the SHARK and a PROPAGANDA BACKFIRE!
HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!!
The damn bottle rockets never hit hardly anything except open fields.
What is next, Palestinians are the ones who downed Flight 17?
Israel’s leaders, who consider these weapons and longer-range missiles from Iran potential threats, have turned to engineers from Waltham-based Raytheon Co. to help develop the next-generation interceptor missile.
A critical test of the system, called the Stunner, is set for Israel’s Negev Desert in coming days.
Israelis are counting on the missile to become the centerpiece of their defense shield, known as David’s Sling. US officials involved in the program and several independent specialists said the engineering challenge they face is aptly captured by the reference to the Old Testament mismatch between David and Goliath.
Except in this case, Israel is Goliath!
Btw, I am SO SICK of ISRAEL and its ma$$ media cloaking everything they do in GRAND TERMS of RELIGIOSITY! It's blasphemous sacrilege!
“The problem you run into is it is a much more difficult target, which means your missile interceptor needs to be very capable,” said Theodore A. Postol, professor of science, technology, and national security policy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and former adviser to the US Navy.
David’s Sling is designed to complement Israel’s current system, dubbed Iron Dome, which destroyed nearly 400 incoming rockets from Gaza in the latest conflict.
And if they only intercepted less than half.... add it up your$elf.
Iron Dome batteries are outfitted with a radar sensor designed to determine within seconds of launch which rockets are headed for populated areas. Only then does the system engage the most threatening rockets with a missile, known as the Tamir.
Israeli officials say they had a 90 percent success rate in knocking down such rockets from Gaza. The assertion could not be independently verified.
Hezbollah’s missiles, designed by Iran and Russia and smuggled from Syria, are capable of traveling faster and reaching virtually all of Israel — a range of more than 150 miles.
I knew they was in cahoots!
They also contain a guidance system that makes them a greater threat to populated areas, according to officials.
“It is not just Hezbollah,” said Gabriel Scheinmann, a visiting fellow at the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs in Washington. “There is also the threat of Scud missiles, especially if you are looking at what is going on in Syria,” where a civil war is igniting concerns about that country’s massive stockpile of missiles and chemical weapons. Russian-built Scuds are capable of traveling hundreds of miles and can carry large warheads.
Good thing those chemical weapons are all gone.
Related:
Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs
Foundation for Defense of Democracies
"For those of you who haven't heard of this "foundation," it is one of the most influential and powerful of the Zionist lobbies which changed its name and sprung into action immediately after 9-11, the successor of PNAC. Another reflection of its power is the apparent unwillingness of the major media, such as the NY Times, to identify it for what it is."
Why are all the experts in my jew$paper agenda-pushing Zionist outfits?
Israel’s defense industry developed the Iron Dome, with $200 million in financing from the United States so far. A US defense bill calls for spending another $600 million for additional batteries and replacement missiles.
Meanwhile, at home food stamps are cut and unemployment benefits allowed to lapse.
Raytheon’s role in David’s Sling has been funded by the Israeli firm Rafael, for a total of about $130 million over the past three years, according to public records.
If the system proves viable, additional funding could come from the United States.
The technology “is designed to defeat a variety of short-range ballistic missiles, large caliber rockets and cruise missiles,” according to Raytheon....
“They are working hard to get David’s Sling operational,” said a Raytheon official who was not authorized to speak publicly about the project or the upcoming test in Israel....
It was Raytheon whose Patriot missile batteries — initially designed to shoot down aircraft — were deployed to Israel during the 1991 Persian Gulf War when Iraq was launching Scud missiles at the Jewish state. While their effectiveness was hailed at the time, later assessments concluded the system was not particularly effective.
We don't care about that, we care about the $$$ flowing from it.
Of course, believe everything your military and government tells you wherever you may be.
The Patriot system has been upgraded and is in the arsenal of several nations, including Israel, though it is not considered ideally suited for the country’s close quarters with its neighbors. The response time to deflect an incoming missile is exceedingly small, requiring a more sophisticated system.
Israel is also working with Boeing on a more sophisticated system known as Arrow 3, designed to intercept missiles that can travel hundreds, even thousands of miles. It is feared that Iran or North Korea could someday mount a nuclear warhead on such missiles.
The success of the Iron Dome system has energized missile defense advocates, who contend its success rate validates the decades-old vision of being able to shoot down a missile with another missile.
Cha-ching!
That vision, first elevated by President Reagan during the Cold War, has been controversial. The United States has spent hundreds of billions trying to achieve success.
Hey, who cares about all that wasted tax loot? It made someone rich.
Max Boot, a defense policy specialist at the Council on Foreign Relations, wrote in a widely read column in Commentary magazine this week that “the latest Gaza war is only a few days old, but already one conclusion can be drawn: missile defense works.
“This is only the latest vindication for the vision of Ronald Reagan,” he added.
Another "expert."
Talk radio host Neal Boortz has posted about the Iron Dome system to his more than 100,000 followers on Twitter. “That’s the Star Wars technology developed under Reagan that the left absolutely HATED. Thought you ought to know.”
Globe really reaching into the bottom of the barrel.
But technical experts called such statements misleading, pointing out that the most sophisticated missiles that can travel across continents and rely on satellite guidance systems are generations removed from the low-tech rockets that have been screeching into Israel....
The comparisons are more than a little stretch.....
Distortion is the "name of the game" in the agenda-pushing AmeriKan media.
"Israel’s test of missile defense system called a success" Associated Press, November 26, 2012
Would they claim failure and alert an enemy of weakness?
JERUSALEM — Israel successfully tested its newest missile defense system on Sunday, the military said, a step toward making the third leg of what Israel calls its ‘‘multilayer missile defense’’ operational.
The ‘‘David’s Sling’’ system is designed to stop midrange missiles. It successfully passed its test, shooting down its first missile in a drill Sunday in southern Israel, the military said. The system is designed to intercept projectiles with ranges of up to 180 miles.
Israel has also deployed Arrow systems for longer-range threats from Iran. And its Iron Dome protects against short-range rockets fired by militants in the Gaza Strip and by Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon. Iron Dome shot down hundreds of rockets from Gaza in this month’s round of fighting.
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said the success of Iron Dome highlighted the ‘‘immense importance’’ of such systems.
David’s Sling, also known as ‘‘Magic Wand,’’ is developed by Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Waltham, Mass.-based Raytheon Co. and is primarily designed to counter the large arsenal of Hezbollah rockets in Lebanon.
They wave it and American tax loot disappears!
The military said the program, which is on schedule for deployment in 2014, would ‘‘provide an additional layer of defense against ballistic missiles.’’
So as SOON as they GOT IT UP they ATTACKED GAZA, huh?
The whole teenager things was just a pretext!
The next generation of Arrow, now in the development stage, is set to be deployed in 2016.
Prepare for an attack on Iran in that year then.
Called the Arrow 3, it is designed to strike its target outside the atmosphere, intercepting missiles closer to their launch sites. Together, the two Arrow systems would provide two chances to strike down incoming missiles.
Israel also uses US-made Patriot missile defense batteries against midrange missiles, though these failed to hit any of the 39 Scud missiles fired at Israel from Iraq in the first Gulf War more than 20 years ago. Manufacturers say the Patriot system has been improved since then.
Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, the head of Hezbollah, said Sunday that the Lebanese group would fire thousands of rockets into Israel in any future war and target cities in the country’s heartland.
Nasrallah’s warning came days after the eight-day Israeli offensive against Gaza ended with a truce. Nasrallah said Gaza militants had won ‘‘a clear victory’’ against Israel with their rocket bombardment.
Hezbollah, like Hamas and other Gaza militant factions, maintains a rocket arsenal and regularly threatens to use it. It fought an inconclusive 34-day war with the Jewish state in 2006 that left 1,200 Lebanese and 160 Israelis dead.
The ratio is always the same.
Related: War Criminal Defies World
Still are.
Btw, they violate Lebanese airspace every day.
The Gaza war marked the first use by Palestinian factions of a longer ranged Iranian-made rocket, the Fajr-5. It caused no casualties but did trigger air raid warnings in the heartland cities of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, which, unlike cities closer to the Lebanese and Gaza borders, have not experienced any sustained missile attack since Iraqi Scuds were fired in the 1991 Gulf War.
Hezbollah fired at least one long-range rocket ineffectually in the 2006 war. But Israeli intelligence now believes the militant group has the capability to strike anywhere in the country, although Israel now deploys air defense systems designed to counter the threat.
With all these defenses why does Israel need to wage war on people?
In the Gaza conflict, Israeli aircraft launched some 1,500 strikes on targets linked to the Palestinian territory’s Hamas rulers and other groups, while Gaza militants fired roughly the same number of rockets into Israel.
Except there is NO EQUALITY THERE!
Israel is dropping down drone missiles and stuff; Palestinians shooting off homemade rockets that are notoriously inaccurate (if it is them at all).
Hezbollah fired nearly 4,000 rockets at Israel during the 2006 war and is believed to have upgraded its arsenal since then. Nasrallah did not say how many missiles and rockets his group possesses, although in the past he said they have more than 20,000. Israel estimates the number at several times that.
--more--"
Also see: Israel’s Iron Dome
Memory Hole: Cast Lead II
Seems like a good time to remind everyone.
