Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. 24/7 Space News .




UAV NEWS
Israel unveils new anti-missile systems, long-range UAV
by Staff Writers
Tel Aviv, Israel (UPI) Mar 04, 2013


Israel has completed testing on Elbit Systems' SkyShield that protects commercial aircraft against surface-to-air missiles, one of a trio of advanced military systems the Jewish state has unveiled in recent weeks.

Earlier in February, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems introduced its new laser anti-missile shield, known as Iron Beam, at the Paris Air Show.

Two weeks later, Israel Aerospace Industries, flagship of Israel's defense sector, took the wraps off its new Super Heron unmanned aerial vehicle at the Singapore Air Show.

Israel's military started looking for a system to counter shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles after al-Qaida militants in Kenya fired two Soviet-era Strela-2 SAMs at an Arkia Airlines jetliner with 271 people aboard, mainly homebound Israeli vacationers, on Nov. 28, 2002.

The Boeing 757 had just taken off from the Indian Ocean city of Mombasa where the jihadists had carried out a suicide bombing at an Israel-owned hotel, killing 13 people. Both missiles missed the Israeli airliner.

As far as is known, there have been no other SAM attacks on Israeli civilian aircraft. But the threat from man-portable surface-to-air missile systems, known as Manpads, has grown since rebels seized large numbers of SAMs from Libyan arsenals following the downfall and death of Moammar Gadhafi in August 2011.

Islamist militants in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula shot down a military helicopter earlier this month and Saudi Arabia is pushing to provide rebel forces in Syria with Chinese SAMs to counter airstrikes by forces of the Damascus regime.

This has raised fears that in both combat zones, civilian aircraft could become targets.

The resort city of Eilat on the Gulf of Aqaba in southern Israel is close to the Sinai border and Israeli authorities fear tourist-filled airliners flying in and out of the city could be targeted from the desert.

Israeli air force Brig. Gen.Eitan Eshel, director of research and development at the Defense Ministry, said: "SkyShield has been validated under the most complex and sophisticated testing conditions ever conducted in Israel and is now ready to protect Israeli airliners."

SkyShield, also known as C-MUSIC, is the commercial version of Elbit's multi-spectral infrared countermeasures system used on military aircraft.

It employs laser technology and thermal imaging to jam the guidance systems of incoming SAMs and divert them away from their targets.

Israel's Channel 2 television reported in 2012 that SkyShield costs around $1 million per unit and will be installed on all aircraft flown by El Al, the national carrier, on "sensitive routes."

As for the Iron Beam weapon, Amit Zimmer, spokesman for state-owned Rafael, said the system's development is at an advanced stage using technology not far removed from fiction.

"It's exactly what you see in Stars Wars," he told reporters at the Singapore defense exhibition. "You see the lasers go up so quickly, like a flash, and the target is finished.

"It's very accurate. When you have lasers, you have an unlimited magazine."

Iron Beam is designed to complement Rafael's Iron Dome system that counters short-range rockets and artillery shells with radar-guided Tamir interceptor rockets.

Since its operational deployment in early 2012, Iron Dome has racked an impressive 84.6 percent kill rate against Palestinian rockets by official tally.

Iron Beam uses lasers to superheat the warheads of rockets or other projectiles with ranges of up to 4 1/2 miles and destroy them in flight.

The new weapon will become an extra layer of Israel's planned four-tier missile defense shield.

This also includes high-altitude Arrow 2 and 3 anti-ballistic missiles built by IAI and the Boeing Co. of the U.S., David's Sling, designed to intercept medium-range missiles and still under development by Rafael and the Raytheon Corp.

The main innovation of IAI's new medium-range high-altitude upper Heron UAV, displayed for the first time at the Singapore exhibition, is a more powerful engine that gives it an endurance time of 45 hours at a ceiling of 30,000 feet.

The UAV, with a wingspan of nearly 55 feet and a maximum payload of 990 pounds, was developed in secret.

Israel's Globes business daily reported the Super Heron, unlike earlier variants of the Heron, which use aviation gas, the new craft uses a 200-horsepower diesel engine that gives it a speed in excess of 150 knots and a faster rate of climb.

.


Related Links
UAV News - Suppliers and Technology






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle




Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News





UAV NEWS
Northrop Grumman's Common Imagery Processor Deploys To Support Global Hawk Block 40
Grand Forks AFB ND (SPX) Feb 26, 2014
Northrop Grumman's Common Imagery Processor (CIP) has taken another important step in supporting the Global Hawk Block 40 Unmanned Aircraft System by deploying to Grand Forks Air Force Base in Grand Forks, N. D., last year. To address an urgent outstanding U.S. Air Force requirement for Global Hawk sensor operators to be able to view and respond to real-time collected imagery, Northrop Gru ... read more


UAV NEWS
China Focus: Uneasy rest begins for China's troubled Yutu rover

China's Lunar Lander Still Operational

Is Yutu Stuck?

Japan's Pocari Sweat bound for the moon: maker

UAV NEWS
NASA's Curiosity Mars Rover Views Striated Ground

NASA Mars Orbiter Views Opportunity Rover on Ridge

Curiosity Adds Reverse Driving for Wheel Protection

Curiosity Drives On After Crossing Martian Dune

UAV NEWS
Last Shuttle Commander Virtually Flies Boeing CST-100 to ISS

DARPA Open Catalog Makes Agency-Sponsored Software and Publications Available to All

India unveils its own astronaut crew capsule, plans test launch

Orion Underway Recovery Testing Begins off the Coast of California

UAV NEWS
The Next Tiangong

No Call for Yutu

What's up, Yutu

China's Jade Rabbit rover comes 'back to life'

UAV NEWS
Cosmonauts on space station to turn teacher for Russian students

Cancer Targeted Treatments from Space Station Discoveries

Space suit leak happened before, NASA admits

NASA Seeks US Industry Feedback on Options for Future ISS Cargo Services

UAV NEWS
Russia to Start Building New Manned Rocket Launch Pad in 2015

New Vostochny space center a key priority for Russian Far East

First Copernicus satellite at launch site

'Mission of Firsts' Showcased New Range-Safety Technology at NASA Wallops

UAV NEWS
Kepler Mission Announces a Planet Bonanza, 715 New Worlds

Detection of Water Vapor in the Atmosphere of a Hot Jupiter

Water is Detected in a Planet Outside Our Solar System

NASA cries planetary 'bonanza' with 715 new worlds

UAV NEWS
Penn Researchers 'Design for Failure' With Model Material

In the eye of a chicken, a new state of matter comes into view

USAF reveals 'neighborhood watch' satellite program

Science publisher fooled by gibberish papers




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.