TEL AVIV Ñ Israel's air force has completed missile defense preparations
against an Iraqi missile attack.
Officials said the air force has completed the deployment of two Arrow-2
missile defense batteries. They said the air force has also deployed three
improved PAC-2 systems from the United States.
Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz told the Cabinet on Sunday that the
air force preparations were completed during a current exercise with the
United States. The exercise, Juniper Cobra was meant to test the
effectiveness and interoperability of U.S. and Israeli missile defense
batteries, Middle East Newsline reported.
Mofaz told the Cabinet that the United States has transferred three
PAC-2 Gem+ batteries to Israel. The Gem+ is an improved version of the
PAC-2.
Officials said Israel's Green Pine radar was also connected to the PAC-2
systems to provide an accurate picture of Iraqi enemy missile threats. They
said the PAC-2 radar does not have the range to track the flight of
medium-range missiles.
For months, the Israeli military has been drafting a response to an
Iraqi missile attack. The response involves intra-military planning and
operations in a program called "Domino Effect 2."
On Sunday, Israel and the United States entered the second stage of
their joint missile defense exercise. This stage involved interoperability
between Arrow-2 and PAC-2 batteries along with other radar systems.
Israeli defense sources said the last stage of the exercise would be the
arrival of a U.S. Aegis-class cruiser to the eastern Mediterranean. The U.S.
warship would then join the exercise and seek to achieve interoperability
with other missile defense assets.
On Monday, Israeli authorities launched a civil defense exercise in the
coastal city of Tel Aviv. The exercise envisioned a scenario in which four
Iraqi missiles landed in different parts of the city.
