Hmm..`Iron Dome' which un-named foriegn country is funding this
project i wonder?
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Skyguard may be rising from the dead
Skyguard may be rising from the dead
By Barak Ravid
The government is considering resuming funding for the advanced
laser-based Skyguard missile protection system, security officials
told Haaretz. They added that if the system is approved, it can be
operational within 18 months.
The project was dropped about a year and a half ago, despite
several successful tests and in spite of repeated rocket attacks
from Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, but Public Security Minister Avi
Dichter has been enlisted to spearhead the effort to resurrect
Skyguard by a strong lobby group, including former defense ministry
officials, that has developed.
To address the threat from Palestinian Qassam rockets, Prime
Minister Ehud Olmert and then-defense minister Amir Peretz approved
the development of an alternative missile-defense system which is
based on intercepting rockets rather then laser beams. The missile
interceptor, named Iron Dome ("Kipat Barzel" in Hebrew), was to be
developed by Rafael, the national authority for the development of
weapons and military technology, and completed within three
years.
Olmert and Peretz's decision to go ahead with the Iron Dome project
was made in conjunction with the Defense Ministry's recommendation
to develop the system in Israel, and facilitated by the fact that
a foreign country agreed to allocate considerable funds
toward developing the system.
However, the pro-Skyguard group argued that Skyguard was nearly
completed, requiring minimal further investment to make it
operational. They urged Dichter to persuade other decision-makers
to approve the resumption of its development in addition to the
Iron Dome project. They added that the combination of both systems
would yield optimal results.
Supporters of reviving the laser-based project pointed out that it
had passed performance tests in the U.S. with flying colors,
registering a successful interception rate of nearly 100 percent.
Northrop Grumman Space Technology's Skyguard is an advanced
derivative model of the Tactical High Energy Laser (THEL/Nautilus)
project. Initially, the project was launched in 1996 by Israel and
the U.S., and was meant to counter Hezbollah's 122mm Katyusha
rockets.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/888921.html
Skyguard or related pictures;
http://www.defense-update.com/images/skyguard.jpg
http://www.israeli-weapons.com/weapons/missile_systems/systems/thel5.jpg
http://www.israeli-weapons.com/weapons/missile_systems/systems/thel2.jpg
