Tel Aviv: Israel and the US are working to establish a network of early warning systems to be based in some Gulf countries that will give Israel a much earlier warning on the launch of Iranian ballistic missiles. These radars will be connected to the Israeli air force’s main anti-ballistic command centre.
The basics of this program have been prepared and according to Israeli daily Haaretz, the final approval may be given during the planned visit of US President Biden in the Middle East. This visit has been postponed to July. An Israeli senior defence source said that the main issue that will be brought up in the discussions with US President, will focus on convincing Israel to agree to deploy or export its very advanced long range early warning radars to the Gulf states.
The program is based on the deployment of Israeli long range radar systems like the ones used by the Arrow 3 ballistic missile defence system. These long range radars made by the ELTA, a division of Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), are operating in the S and UHF frequencies.
According to an ELTA brochure, the operationally proven ELM-209OU ULTRA UHF Early Warning and long-range search and track radars are a family of transportable land-based radar systems designed to autonomously detect and simultaneously track dozens of Ballistic Missiles (BMs), satellites and airborne targets at very long ranges. The radar operates under all weather conditions and in the presence of dense electromagnetic environments.
The modular digital Active Electronic Steering Array (AESA) consists of thousands of transmit/receive modules and digital units which provide high redundancy, graceful degradation, high reliability and high availability. The modular design enables the construction of scalable radar configurations using multiple antenna building blocks (clusters) according to customer requirements.
According to an official technical data sheet of ELTA , its S band ELM- 209 OS SPECTRA is a operationally proven highly accurate S-Band search and track radar designed to autonomously detect and simultaneously track
Ballistic Missiles (BMs), Air Breathing Targets (ABT) and satellites at very long ranges. The radar is suited for either land-based or ship-based operation, and is transportable and designed to operate under extreme weather conditions as well as in the presence of intense electromagnetic environment.
In mid-April, at least eight C-17 Globemaster heavy transport aircraft belonging to the United Arab Emirates Air Force have landed in the Israeli Nevatim air force base. No official explanation was offered but now sources say that the aircraft transported Israeli made ‘sensors’ to the UAE. It is obvious now that the deployment of Israeli systems in the Gulf region has begun and now it seems it will get a major boost with the aid of Washington, an Israeli defence source said.
If the anti-ballistic coalition is formed it will be the second such organization. Two months ago , the Israeli air force (IAF) revealed that last year two Iranian UAVs were shot down by two of its F-35, while on their way to Israel.
The interception was achieved by the use of different aerial and ground sensors and according to defence sources by the use of real time intelligence.
The coalition members are characterised as “Targets of Iranian aggression”. Israeli official sources refused to comment on the structure of the coalition. Sources in Israel said that US sensors in the relevant region are assisting the effort. The Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen continues to use armed UAVs and armed drones to attack targets in Saudi Arabia.
An Israeli defence source said that in recent months Iran’s Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) has been increasing the delivery of drones to its proxies in the region and beyond. He noted that now Iranian-backed forces in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, as well as Hezbollah in Lebanon, have received these drones, adding that they were also sold to Venezuela.
The building of the infrastructure of the regional ballistic missiles early warning organization, according to an Israeli defence source, will be based on the following operational mode – the early warning long range radars of Israel and the participating Gulf states, will be connected directly. The members will transfer real time warning when a ballistic missile trajectory is detected, and this according to the projected hit point.
As part of the plan to establish a comprehensive framework for the detection of Iranian ballistic missiles, Israel will have to agree to allow a certain level of interface between its main early warning sensors and those that are operated by the Gulf countries, including the ones that Israel will deploy there, if all the hurdles are cleared with the help of the US President.
-The writer is an Israel-based freelance journalist. The views expressed are of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of Raksha Anirveda
