Israel plans missile strike alert system using nation's cell phone network Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Wednesday, June 10, 2009 E-Mail this story Free Headline Alerts
TEL AVIV Ñ Israel's military's Home Front Command has devised a missile alert network based on cellular phones.
In May 2009, the command successfully tested the network in the Turning Point-3 exercise.
"We realize that most of the people in the country have cellular phones," Lt. Col. Uri Perez, head of the command's Teleprocessing and Warning platoon, said.
Perez said the command has sought to exploit the huge cellular phone coverage in Israel, with nine million phones for seven million civilians. He said the command would be able to warn residents of any area threatened with a missile strike.
"The chance to receive a warning is very likely, and it's a very personal thing that no matter your whereabouts, your cellular phone is with you," Perez said. "Therefore, we are moving in this direction."
Officials said the early-warning missile alert system would be operational in 2011. They said cellular phone providers already possessed the technology, and would be directed to sell only phones capable of being integrated in the network.
The Home Front Command has been using the Red Dawn missile warning alert for communities vulnerable to attack from the Gaza Strip. Red Dawn has been connected to sirens that provide a warning of at least 20 seconds of an incoming short-range missile.
"When I look at the cellular warning system, I can conclude that it is a very efficient tool," Perez said. "It is meant to be an addition to the radio and sirens, not a replacement,"