Missile Detection -Dan WilliamsThe U.S. will soon link Israel up to two advanced missile detection systems as a precaution against any future attack by a nuclear-armed Iran, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said.
[T]he system has been described as capable of tracking an object the size of a baseball from about 2,900 miles (4,700 km.) away.
It would let Israel's Arrow anti-missile missile engage an Iranian Shihab-3 ballistic missile about halfway through its 11-minute flight to Israel.
(Reuters)
UPDATE:
Israel Can Shoot Down Dozens of Missiles Simultaneously -Yuval Azoulay
(T)he Israel Air Force unveiled Sniper, a system developed by three Israeli companies that identifies a target, whether missile or plane, while it is still hundreds of kilometers from Israel, enabling it to be struck with missiles.
The IAF stressed that this system is currently reserved for Israel's exclusive use; U.S. Patriot batteries elsewhere in the world are not equipped with Sniper.
Israel now has the ability to bring down dozens of missiles simultaneously, and to select which missiles to target based on each missile's projected landing site.
[Ha'aretz]
8 comments:
The range stated by Reuters for the portable X-band radar (which is also the radar used in THAAD) is incorrect, and is in fact the range for the Sea-based X-band radar--a truly enormous system the size of a 20 story building. The portable X-band radar (FBX-T Radar aka AN/TPY-2 aka TPS-X) is much smaller, and is roughly the size and shape of the Green Pine radar, but of course operates in X-band rather than L.
According to Army Technology
"The AN/TPY-2 radar uses a 9.2m² aperture full field of view antenna phased array operating at I and J bands (X band) and containing 25,344 solid-state microwave transmit and receive modules. The radar has the capability to acquire missile threats at ranges up to 1,000km."
See: http://www.army-technology.com/projects/thaad/
In any event, this is about double the often quoted range of the Green Pine--clearly a nice addition to Israel's capabilities.
Your command of the technology far exceeds my own.
Does the Reuters error you propose, imply that the information in the post is incorrect...does this mean that Israel can not track an object "the size of a baseball?"
Best,
Bruce
Well, I can see a baseball outside my window 100 feet away.
But it is really the range that counts.
The whole point of my post is that all news organizations hear is "X-band", and fail to recognize there are multiple X-band radars, different in size, cost, and capability.
The range Reuters and others quoted is for the Sea-based X-band radar. See: http://www.mda.mil/mdalink/pdf/sbx.pdf
This is a hundred times bigger the AN/TPY-2. See: http://www.mda.mil/mdalink/pdf/fdr.pdf
Furthermore, the real significance of the mobile X-band radar is not so much a small increase in range, but rather that it will allow Israel to discriminate against exo-atmospheric decoys. "The Patriot and Arrow systems’ radars operate in the L- and C-bands, respectively, not in the more discriminating X-band. While the degree of integration Israel might achieve between the radar and its various air defense systems would remain to be seen, an X-band radar tailored for BMD would undoubtedly be an important upgrade for the Israelis." http://www.rightsidenews.com/200807301588/global-terrorism/israel-u.s.-the-implications-of-x-band-radar.html
Ah, i think i get the picture...literally...the photos on the website's you gave reveal the tremendous size difference in the respective units.
And the range issue i understand. At the risk of seeming ignorant, i'd be eternally grateful if you can explain what a "exo-atmospheric decoys" is.
Bruce :)
Consider checking out my newest post on a very LOW tech subject: mushtache wars. It almost too weird to be true, but in the MidEast reality is stranger than fiction!
From GlobalSecurity.org
"There are two primary types of countermeasures, penetration aids or penaids and inherent countermeasures. Penaids are items that are added to the missile to increase the chance of the missile reaching its intended target. Penaids could be housed in the target reentry vehicle separation module. One penaid technique is for an offensive missile to carry, in addition to the actual target reentry vehicle, several decoy target reentry vehicles. These decoys when released, appear to be actual warheads. Inherent countermeasures are elements of normal operations of missiles that make it harder for interceptors to identify and destroy the target missile. This would include the separation of the reentry vehicle from the booster, which decreases the size of the portion of the missile to be tracked and destroyed by the interceptor."
http://www.globalsecurity.org/space/systems/decoys.htm
Why thank you...that is so kind of you to share this fascinating info.
Warmly,
Bruce
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